Reaper Threat v2
by mblackhawk
Summary: Adopted from Alpine992, with a new spin. The Normandy, while scanning for minerals, finds life signs on a planet long-thought unsettled, and gain a new, unpredictable, knucklehead, crew member. Naruto/FemShep.
1. Chapter 1

_**Reaper Threat**_

_**Adopted from Alpine992**_

_Author's Note: Just so you know, I've adopted this fanfic, but in my adoption, I'm putting my own spin on the story. A good portion of the original text remains, as my time constraints won't allow me to completely rewrite the entire fic. You'll see from the first chapter, which I've revised, to show my new vision for this fic. Naruto will not be at odds with his former teammates when he leaves the planet, this will still be a FemShep/Naruto story._

**Naruto Pov**

My story is a complicated one, has been since the day I was born, my father the Fourth Hokage saved the village by doing the only thing that could stop the feared nine tail Bijuu, Kurama. He sealed it in his new born son which just happened to be me. That was a long twenty one years ago now. My father asked his predecessor which was the third Hokage to tell the village to treat me like a hero for my sacrifice but it was in vain as my death was what they truly wanted, as they thought that I was a reincarnation of the beast. I was hunted most of my child hood, and brought to the brink of death every time I was caught by the villagers. Anbu and the Hokage would always save me, I had no family or friends, My mother and my father both died in the sealing process to protect me from Kurama's claw.

I was that kid in class that would always mess up and get laughed at but I had attention when that happened so I didn't even try to stop it. It was the only time in my child hood that any one ever noticed me apart from being called the demon brat. I was twelve years old when I first found out that I was Kurama's jailor from one of my own teachers who had lured me to steal a certain item from the Hokage to become a genin. I was told to steal the scroll and learn a move and I would pass, but things went down hill from there. Both of my teachers fought it out, and the one that told me to steal the scroll was arrested. When I was put on my genin team I thought that I was the luckiest guy on the planet well partly. I had the girl of my dreams on my team Sakura, but unfortunately she had the guy of her dreams on the team also Sasuke.

Its been a long time since I have thought of both of them but im getting off track. We were given D-rank missions as every genin team had, but we got our first C-rank mission and it turned out to be an A-rank mission. We continued on anyway. We fought a member of the hidden mist who had gone rogue, turned out that he helped us in the mission along with his friend Haku who I thought was a girl. After that mission we were accepted into the chunnin exams and were faced by the Sand village Suna. A member that was around the same age as I am turned out to house a Bijuu as well the one tails Shukaku. His name is Gaara. We faced off and I came out the victor but barley, that was when I met Jiraiya a massive pervert but a great teacher none the less. I took a training trip with him for three years after I turned fourteen and the betrayal of Sasuke who I had become close friends with even going as far as to call him my brother. We fought it out at the valley of the End and he defeated me leaving to join Orochimaru.

When my training trip was done we had the Akatsuki to deal with, a criminal Organization that was made up of S-class missing nin. They hunted the Bijuu and killed there tenants when extracting them. Gaara was one of the ones to survive, but barley, he actually lost his life but if it weren't for a great old lady he would not be here today she had saved his life by sacrificing her own. We faced off against Orochimaru to try and find Sasuke and that was also a failure. After a couple of months doing missions and after the death of Jiraiya our village was attacked by the Akatsuki or what was left of it. They basically wiped the Leaf village of the face of the planet. I was training to become a sage to stop it and when I came back things didn't go as planned. I defeated a few of them but there was one left, he struck down a girl that I knew from my classes in the academy and she confessed her love for me. Then the Kyuubi started to take control and eight of its nine tails came out and I had defeated pain and learned who my father was. I met another student of Jiraiya, Nagato and he had told me that he wants to end all war, he sacrificed himself and brought back members of the leaf who had died in the assault. Then there was Konan a beautiful woman with blue hair, I have seen her on my travels every now and then, she was Nagato's partner in Akatsuki, but they had known each other since they were kids.

After the start of the reconstruction of the Leaf village, I went to plead to the Raikigae to stop him from trying to kill Sasuke but my attempt failed. That was when I first met Tobi. He spoke some words that I cannot remember and told me that Sasuke was a true avenger. I do not know what fully happened at the Kage meeting but Gaara told me his version. When I had finished talking with Gaara I was upset to say the least, then what made my day worse was that Sakura confessed her love for me but I knew it was a lie and was even told so by Sai. She wanted to kill Sasuke herself. After I had followed them and had seen Sasuke in the state he was in from fighting Danzo I knew I would have to face Sasuke, who I still thought of as a brother, again. But Tobi took him away and that was the start of the war.

It went on for two years until I ended up fighting Tobi and his Gedo Mazo, along with Kakashi, Guy and Killer Bee and ended up winning ending the war. Sasuke went back to the village because I finally beat some sense into his thick skull. I hadn't talked to Sakura in those two years, or anyone else for that matter. At the start of the war, I was learning to control Kurama's power, and didn't know what was going on, until I was able to sense the war itself. Then, Bee and I left our "Turtle Island", and made our way to the battle field. During our fight with Tobi, we were joined by Might Guy, and my old sensei, Kakashi Hatake. During my battle with Tobi was when I finally made friends with Kurama, and achieved my full Biiju form, too.

That was two years ago when I was nineteen and am now twenty one. I sit here on the edge of a village that I don't even know its name. I cant show myself in a town unless I want to be targeted by bounty hunters looking for a quick pay day. They never learn. I look to the stars every night for hours on end wondering if there was someone else out there that was even remotely in the same boat as I was. Cursed and forgotten thrown to the wolves after everything I had done. I see shooting stars often now and wonder what it would be like to fly among them even for a little while. I never knew how much my life was about to change.

**Naruto Pov end.**

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Ah Commander You really have to see this."_ Joker's voice came over the radio.

"What is it Joker." She asked from her personal quarters. She was a well built woman a small cut above her left eye she had shoulder-length red hair with blue eyes. She had on the Cerberus dress uniform.

"_We went searching for some Element Zero on the planet below and EDI found signs of life but there is no known race that inhabitants this part of the galaxy. Could be a whole new species that the galaxy has yet to see."_

"Get the two Cerberus officers I forget there names into the briefing room I will talk it over with them."

"_That would be Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor, Commander."_ Came EDI's voice over the comm.

"yeah right them too." She said as she headed towards the elevator.

"_Commander you just got onto this ship and already forgetting names I thought it would take a while longer."_ Joker laughed.

"Ha ha very funny Joker just tell them." She smiled.

"_Will do."_

Miranda and Jacob were waiting for her in the briefing room and had been told a little about the current situation and were more then shocked about it.

"Commander, we have to check it out." Miranda said. Miranda was a beautiful woman with long black hair that fell past her shoulders she wore a white and black uniform most of it being white apart from the sleeves and the boots which reached up to her upper thigh also having the Cerberus logo on her chest. Jacob was a well built man with dark skin and his uniform was black with a little bit of white on the back under his arms along with the Cerberus symbol on the uniforms chest.

"What about the mission we have to get these people that the Illusive man has recommended." Jacob argued.

"What's the difference between going down to this planet and going to get supplies at the citadel then rushing back to Omega?" Miranda argued back while Shepard watched them.

"Both of you settle down you still don't realise this but, this is my ship and it goes where I say it goes, got it." She said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Both turned to look at her and nodded. "Good, now we are going down there to check it out maybe we can get someone who would be a great help otherwise we will leave and tell the council about it later. Now go suit up and met me at the Mako."

"_Ah commander we don't have a Mako any more."_ Joker's voice came over the radio.

"God damn it I keep forgetting!" She hissed.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto sat watching the stars when he saw another shooting one or what seemed to be one and it was heading straight towards him. He started to panic when he saw that it wasn't disappearing like the others but was starting to come down to the surface.

"_What a way to go, fight and win in a war and get taken out by a falling star."_ He thought with a small smile as he closed his eyes. He felt a large wind rush passed him with incredible heat and then heard the snapping of tree's behind him. He opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder from where he was sitting. What he saw shocked him it looked like a huge hunk of metal with steam coming off of it. He stood up and looked at it for a moment before something made a loud hissing sound and a compartment started to open. _"I don't think this is a star."_

"_**You don't say,**__" _Kurama chimed in, "_**Thank you, Captain Obvious**_."

He cautiously walked over to the door only to get thrown back from a blue unknown force and landed on the ground in a defensive stance.

"Who's there!" He called out. He saw a faint yellow glow from within the ship.

"Commander, this language is a lot similar to Japanese back on earth." A voice came back but he was unable to understand.

"Sorry, I don't understand you, could you repeat that?" He asked scratching the back of his head. Out of the metal room stepped out three people two women and a dark skinned man. They wall wore strange looking uniforms and the woman with red hair looked like she was wearing a type of armor which had two strange symbols on the chest plate.

"My name is Jane Shepard, man this is weird can't you give him something so I don't have to talk into this omni tool?" She asked. Naruto could understand a little bit of what she was saying but only picked up the word name.

"Alright just hang on a second." The second woman spoke. "My name is Miranda." She said as she approached him her voice echoed around him. "I'm going to give you this ear piece, it will help us understand you and you to understand us. Do you understand?" Naruto looked at her and scratched the back of his head again.

"Sure I guess." Miranda handed him and ear piece that came down into a make shift mike down the side of his cheek. "This feels weird."

"You will get use to it." Miranda said as she walked back to the ship.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, or Namikaze, take your pick." He replied.

"Take your pick?"

"It's very complicated, and I really don't feel like explaining it all right now. What I do want to know is, what the hell this thing is," Naruto said, pointing to the crashed ship.

"What this?" Shepard asked.

"yeah that thing that came crashing down and almost hit me! Then you three popped out of it and something hit me and I was like 'what the hell'!"

"This is our ship." The red head replied.

"But were not anywhere near the ocean!" He growled while sitting down.

"Why are you sitting?" Miranda asked.

"I sit when I'm confused." Making Shepherd chuckle.

"Let me try and explain we came from the sky."

"No shit you almost hit me!" He growled again. "And I was just sitting here minding my own business and POW!" He said making a loud noise with his hands to make it easier to explain."

"_**Calm Down, Naruto**_," Kurama advised, "_**They're probably from a more advanced civilization. Remember, how you used to wonder if there was other life out there, back when you were 7?**_"

"_I didn't think you'd remember that_," Naruto thought back to the fox.

"Why didn't you move out of the way? I mean you would have seen us coming right?" Jacob asked.

"yeah I thought you were a shooting star and I thought what a way to go." He smiled which looked like a fox.

"A shooting star?" Miranda asked.

"I see a few every night. Ever since the war ended I watch the skies every night."

"War?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, a couple of years ago, all 5 great nations were allied together in the 4th great Ninja War, against Tobi and the Akatsuki"

"_Ninja?_" Miranda asked internally.

"Who's that?" Shepard asked, as Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I really don't feel like getting into it at the moment. Go find one of the hidden villages if you want to know more." He sighed as he layed on his back and returned to looking at the stars.

"So Naruto." Shepard started.

"So you remember his name but not ours!" Jacob yelled at her.

"Where would be the closest village?" Miranda inquired, then thinking, "_This could be interesting_."

"About two days walk to the west you will find the Leaf Village but they won't let in strangers, unless they changed the rules." he said as he yawned.

"Could you be our guide?" Miranda asked.

"I'm not going back there I will be killed on sight." This raised the others curiosity.

"Are you a criminal of some sought?" Shepard asked.

"Not really no but to them I am." He said as he stood up. "It's really complicated to get into and would be rather troublesome."

"_**Now you're starting to sound like Shikamaru**_," quipped the fox, making Naruto laugh in his mind.

"So you can't take us to the Leaf village then where is another village?" Jacob asked.

"About three weeks run to the south."

"We don't have three weeks Shepard."

"I know that, Naruto if we can promise your safety will you take us to the Leaf village?"

"I can protect myself thank you very much and I have history in the leaf and I don't really want to go back."

"We will give you credits." Miranda offered him.

"What the hell are those?" She sighed this was not going anywhere.

"OK Naruto how about this, you take us to the Leaf village and get us in to see there leader we will tell you whatever you want to know." Naruto stood in thought for a moment and then nodded once and picked up his black cloak which had red clouds on it in random order, he put on a straw hat with white strands of materiel going down covering his face.

"Alright follow me. Granny Tsunade is going to be pissed tho. When you meet her, try not to piss her off to much." The three nodded and walked behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

The three were marveled at how thick the trees were in what was supposedly Fire country, Naruto had been telling them little bits about the five elemental nations and he had learned that they were from space and were on some sought of mission. The walls of Konoha came into view a few hours before they arrived at the main gate and Naruto had put the cloak away and pulled out a white one with black clouds, they hadn't asked about it and all of them continued on. The gate was huge, Shepard was in awe over it, Miranda and Jacob had both noticed that Naruto was now at the back of the group, as they walked a few meters into the gate before they were called to a stop by two men in green flat jackets.

"This isn't a village," Jacob whispered to Miranda, "This is a city."

"Who are you and what business do you have here?" One of the men asked. Naruto stepped forward as they wouldn't be able to talk to them. He took of his straw hat and both of them gasped in shock. "Anbu!" Suddenly Naruto was on the ground four swords were at his neck. The three that were traveling with him pulled out there weapons.

"We must congratulate you three he has been missing for two years." One of the Anbu spoke. He had a white mask with the design of a snake on it. Miranda and Shepard activated there omni tools and spoke into them.

"We have come to speak with Tsunade." Shepard stated.

"And you shall, this criminal has a lot of explaining to do." The Anbu spoke again as he struck several points on the blonde and he was dragged through the streets towards the large building at the far end of the village. The three gave sympathetic looks to him but he just looked away from them with a glazed look on his face.

"Was that the right thing to do?" Jacob asked.

"I don't know." Shepard replied as she started to follow them. The village had changed in two years there was some still rebuilding and children were playing in the streets, some of the people who saw Naruto were shocked to see him some had tears in their eyes others spat at him which made the three spacers confused. The three followed the Anbu into a large room where Naruto was forced onto his knees.

"Please wait here until the Hokage has arrived." The three nodded and they left. Naruto had not made a move and still had a glazed look in his eyes.

"Naruto are you ok?" Shepard asked as she kneeled down next to him.

"I just thought that I might have had a better reunion." He smiled at her. "Man that guy never gives me a break."

"You knew him?"

"yeah... I fought him in a thing we have here called the chunnin exams, I totally kicked his ass." He chuckled. "I wonder how his cousin is." He said as he sat back on the ground.

"Confused about something?"

"No... hungry, I haven't eaten since this morning."

"You had like thirty bowls of that ramen stuff!" Jacob said in shock.

"yeah but that's just a snack!" Naruto whined making the three wonder how he was so fit. The door on the far room opened revealing a very busty woman. Both Shepard and Miranda felt self conscious after they first saw her. Tsunade has fair skin and brown eyes. She has long blonde hair which is tied into two ponytails using red bands, except for her bangs, which are parted in the middle and fall down the sides of her face . She wears a grass-green robe underneath she wears a gray, kimono-style blouse with no sleeves, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-gray obi that matches her trousers. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her rather sizable cleavage.

"Naruto!" She growled.

"Hey Granny Tsunade miss me?" He yelled at her in a happy voice.

"I should kill you right here!" She yelled at him. The others stood in shock at the conversation between the two got even more heated and Naruto was sent through a wall and two Anbu members brought him back in. They were surprised at the woman's strength. "Where have you been for the last two years!"

"Oh you know here there a little to the left then a bit to the right." He smiled. She approached him again and they thought that she was going to hit him again but she leaned down close and hugged him and cried into his shoulder.

"You did it didn't you? You stopped the war and sent Sasuke back?" Naruto nodded much to the others shock. "Why didn't you return Naruto why go rogue?"

"I didn't go rogue, Grandma, I simply wanted to see the rest of the world like the Pervy Sage." He smiled a sad smile.

"Your already to much like him you know. All you need is the long white hair and funny looking shoes and your there." She chuckled as she stood up. He was unable to move as he had been hit in several nerve connections from the Anbu member. For the first time Tsunade noticed the little ear piece and pointed to it. "What's this Naruto?"

"Oh these guys gave it to me so I could understand them." He smiled pointing to the three behind him.

"Ah sorry about all that he just has caused some trouble is all." Tsunade smiled as she sat down at her desk. "My name is Tsunade, Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village what can I do for you?" She asked. Miranda walked up to her and gave her an ear piece.

"My name is Jane Shepard, you may not believe us but we came from the stars, we had been searching your planet for materials that would help us in our mission when we noticed life signs on the planet."

"You came from the stars?"

"I know it's hard to believe but they all most hit me with there ship!" Naruto growled.

"You thought it was a shooting star!" Shepard yelled at him making him pout at her.

"So. You still almost hit me!" He yelled back.

"What is your mission?" Tsunade asked.

"This is going to be even more insane then us coming from the stars." Miranda spoke. Both the ninja listened as they were told about the reapers and how they wiped out all living things fifty thousand years ago. How that these people in front of them were risking there very lives in trying to save the galaxy.

"So we came down here to see if you could offer us any aid in our mission." Shepard spoke as she watched Naruto struggle to stand up much to Tsunade's shock.

"Naruto?" She asked.

"Where...where do I sign up?" He said with a shit eating grin.

"Sorry but we need trained warriors." Jacob said, to which Naruto and Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

This didn't go unnoticed by Shepard. "Is he cut out for it?" She asked.

"If anyone was cut out for it and you all wanted to survive he is the one that could pull it off, he is of course the number one most unpredictable ninja that the elemental countries has ever seen. He stopped the last war single-highhandedly. He's probably the strongest warrior on our world, and we start training our shinobi at a young age. They graduate from the Academy at age 12, then start their training from an experienced sensei, while taking on missions for the village. Naruto has been doing incredibly difficult to impossible missions since he started his career. " She grinned. There was a knock at the door and Tsunade gestured for them to come in only to see Narrator's eyes flash red as he turned to face her his back turned away from the door. Shepard looked behind her to see a young woman near the age of Naruto but the strangest thing was her pink hair. "What is it Sakura." Tsunade asked.

"_Great, her. Could this day get any worse?_" Naruto thought

"_**It could, but that would only be if the Uchiha shows up,**_" Kurama responded, "_**but, there are people here that aren't total assholes.**_"

"_Such as?_"

"_**Your friends: Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Neji..in his own way, Lee, Tenten. Not too sure about Ino, though. Iruka, Kakashi, that crazy snake woman, Guy, Shizune, and Tsunade.**_"

"_Ok, ok, you have a point. I'm still not ready to return here full time. Probably never will be._"

"_**That's up to you**_," the fox stated, "_**And I'm behind you either way. Have to be, being stuck in here**_."

"_Oh ha ha._"

"_**It's too much fun picking at you, kid**_."

"Is it true?" She asked as she approached the male blonde. "We thought you were dead." She said as she reached for him only for her to get a look from Tsunade which made her stop.

"Sakura now is not the time I am in the middle of an important meeting as you can see."

"Lady Tsunade?"

"Sakura, get the hell out!" She shouted and she left the office with tears in her eyes. Shepard and the others were confused and thought that there must have been history between the two. Plus, the way Naruto seemed to space out for a minute piqued her curiosity.

"_I will need to find out about that later on."_ Shepard thought to herself.

"Calm down Naruto." Tsunade ordered and he unclenched his hands and his eyes turned back to there normal blue. "She hasn't been able to apologize to you ya know."

"There is no need." Naruto replied in a sad tone. "I fulfilled my promise to her, there is nothing left for us to discuss." He said his voice breaking a little. Tsunade was saddened by the news but looked to Shepard to see that there was something that she was wanting to ask.

"Jane, is there something that you would like to ask?" Shepard looked up to her and smiled.

"You wouldn't have any metal or something that is impenetrable around this village would you?" She asked.

"Not here we don't but we could get some in the next few days if it is urgent." Tsunade replied.

"It's just that our ship took some damage and needs a few repairs. It needs to be air tight otherwise we die from loss of air and I don't plan on going out into the great beyond any time soon." She continued to smile.

"I will do the best I can if you would like we could retrieve your ship and bring it here so you can work on it." Shepard nodded and Tsunade ordered in two Anbu who nodded and headed for the ship with Jacob. "As soon as they get back the metal should be here. But for now I should offer you two some sought of place to stay."

"My old place should be fine Grandma." Naruto smirked.

"Brat what have I told you about calling me that!" She yelled at him as he lost his senses in his legs again and fell to the floor. "It should wear off in a while but be sure to give them good exercise over the next few days. And for your idea your apartment complex was torn down Naruto. But there are some apartments we use for guest under the Monument." Shepard and Miranda nodded and headed for the door.

"What's the monument?" Shepard asked.

"The mountain with the faces carved onto it." Tsunade smiled. "I will get Shizune to lead you there. Naruto I need to have a few words with you." Naruto could only gulp.

XXXXXXXXXX

After a long talk with Tsunade, Naruto was walking the streets of Konoha, having an internal dialogue with his inner Biiju.

"_**I know that seeing Sakura still hurt, kid**_," Kurama told Naruto, "_**But would it be so bad to at least let them TRY to mend some fences? It's been two years, and not to sound too reminiscent, but you're starting to sound a bit like I did, back before we finally made sense of our situation.**_"

"_I guess you're right, Kurama,_" Naruto replied, "_It couldn't hurt, could it?"_

"_**And who knows..maybe this mission to the stars is just what you need, but it would be a shame to leave the planet on bad terms.**_"

"_We'll see_."

XXXXXXXXXX

Shepard and Miranda followed the cheerful woman that Tsunade had introduced as Shizune. They had seen the pink haired girl again and she was talking to another blonde haired girl probably around the same age. Shizune gave them a tour around the leaf village that they both found fascinating especially when they saw a group of Anbu members jump over head. Most people in the village gave them a curious glance from the weapons they had on there backs and the clothing that they wore. They had a two bed room apartment and it was nicely decorated with a fridge packed full of food, which they were hesitant on eating but did anyway. It had been around five hours since they had left Naruto with Tsunade and were starting to wander what was going to happen to him. When they were sitting in the kitchen Shepard was looking over some data pads while Miranda was starting a report when there was a knock on the door. Miranda and Shepard looked to each other and Shepard nodded signaling Miranda to be ready and headed for the door. To there surprise it was the pink haired girl they had seen earlier.

"Hello?" Shepard said to the girl for her to understand through her omni tool.

"Please...please don't take him away!" She said as tears ran down her face. She collapsed to her knees and Shepard helped her stand and brought her inside and Miranda gave her a head set. "Please you can't take him away." She pleaded to the commander as she was sat down on the couch.

"This is about Naruto?" Asked Miranda and Sakura nodded.

"Please he means to much to the village to much to me he can't leave... not again..." She trailed off. Shepard looked at her and could only feel sad for her.

"What's your name?" Shepard asked.

"Sakura, Sakura Haruno." She said.

"My name is Jane and this is Miranda, as you can probably tell we aren't from here we are on a very important mission." She said as the girl lifted her head and looked in her eyes. "If Naruto comes with us on our mission we have a higher chance of surviving, but if he doesn't I doubt that anyone here would be able to live in the benefits if he did stay here."

"W-what do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Our enemies seek to destroy the galaxy and everyone in it." Miranda told her making her gasp. "Our mission is clear, we need to stop the Reapers from their goal."

"If Naruto goes with you...will I be able to see him again?" Shepard frowned at that she had seen the way Naruto acted to her in the office.

"Sakura?" Sakura turned her head to look at the red head. "What was Naruto's promise to you?" Sakura's eye went wide, and were filled with sadness.

"When we were both twelve years old we were put onto the same team along with a third member. We never got along with one another I always hit Naruto and never noticed him. I always flaunted myself for Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" Miranda asked.

"Our third member, ever since he was a kid he had always been out for revenge on his brother who killed his entire clan to gain more power. He thought he was better then anyone else especially Naruto. When Sasuke went rogue Lady Tsunade sent a team after them Naruto was on that team, before they left I asked him for one thing. To bring back Sasuke. He told me that it was a promise of a life time, see Naruto is a man of his word if he says it's a promise he will never break it. It was almost six years later but Sasuke returned home saying that Naruto beat him and ordered him back."

"Six years?" Miranda asked.

"He was on a training trip for three of them, then he had to deal with the Akatsuki after that before he even had a chance to go after Sasuke. When they were younger they viewed each other as rivals and then as brothers."

"What happened when Sasuke arrived back in the village?" Shepard asked.

"All he said was that Naruto told him to get back to the leaf, then there was no word from Naruto until a couple of hours ago when you walked through the front gates with him." She said as tears fell from her eyes.

"If we take him with us there is a chance you will never see him again Sakura." More tears fell from her eyes as she cried more and her words weren't even recognizable. "That doesn't mean that you won't Sakura, if Tsunade believes in him and he was able to end a war single-handed there is no doubt that he will survive the mission." Shepard smiled at her. She could tell that Sakura had hope in her eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakura walked down the main street and for once in four years felt happy and had hope that she could fix things with Naruto, who she came to see more like a brother. She made friends with both Miranda and Jane, they seemed to be nice people even if Miranda was a bit out there with her assumptions and that Jane was always trying to be funny most of the time she made her smile. She had been there for two hours learning about there mission and what Naruto would be doing most of the things she wasn't comfortable with and Shepard assured her that they could handle themselves. Naruto was the person she was currently looking for, she had thought that he would instantly go to his favorite place when he was done with the Hokage but he wasn't at the ramen stand they didn't even know he was back. She had been searching for and hour and it was starting to get dark and her hope was slightly faltering when she ran into someone and they both fell down.

"I'm sorry please let me help you up." A voice said above her strangely familiar, she could see a white cloak with black clouds something like the Akatsuki use to wear and she was immediately on guard and jumped up and got into a fighting stance but lowered when she saw who it was.

"Naruto."

"Sakura." Naruto replied he had an indifferent look in his eyes. She jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she hugged him like she had only done twice before, when he defeated pain and when she confessed her love for him. "What's up?" Naruto said his arms hanging at his side.

"Naruto?" She asked as she looked into his eyes only to see them flashing between red and blue. "I thought you would want to come have dinner with me." She said with a smile.

"I've got a lot going on, Sakura," Naruto replied, "And a lot to think about."

"Maybe later then?" She asked.

"I've got a mission I've got to prepare for. This is unlike anything any shinobi's done before."

"How long will you be gone?" She said as he turned his back to her.

"I don't know. There's a chance no one will be coming back." He replied as he started to walk away only come face to face with Sasuke. His onyx eyes only showing that he was at ease. If not, the Sharingan would be showing. He wore a white shirt opening showing his chest and wore dark blue ninja pants with shinobi sandals.

"Dobe." He greeted. "Long time no see what have you been doing for the last two years?" Naruto stopped. His conversation with Kurama earlier had made him rethink things, and he came to a conclusion.

"Seeing the world," he answered, "Much like the Master Jiraiya did. And you guys?"

"Please Naruto come have dinner with us." Sakura pleaded, "We can catch up, and would it really be so bad to try to be friends again?"

"You know, the fox said the same thing."

"So you'll come?" Sasuke said back to him, "And you now have conversations with the fox?"

"Please Naruto your going away and there is a chance you won't be able to come back please stay with us for just a little while." She pleaded again.

"Why not?" He said as he walked away with Sasuke and Sakura

A couple of hours later, Naruto slammed the door to the apartment he was given while he waited for the ship to get fixed Tsunade had told him that he was allowed to go and he had to promise he would survive because she knew that his promise was the best thing to get from the blonde. He walked into the apartment and threw the cloak on the couch as he headed for the bedroom. He went to bed, after a long tiring day, to be awoken in the middle of the night by a knock on his door. He sluggishly got out of bed and opened it to see a panting and seething Ino standing there.

"What is it Ino?" He asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and as soon as he pulled his hand from his face he was slapped.

"That was for staying away for 2 years. Do you know how many times Shikamaru, Choji and I got sent out to try to find you?!" She growled at him only to get a look of confusion from Naruto.

"One question, Ino," Naruto said, "Could this not wait till morning?"


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Just so you what I'm doing here, I want to explain some things. 1: All I know about Naruto, I know from reading the manga, no fillers. And what I see of Naruto is that he doesn't hold a grudge, which in the original form of this story, he was holding a serious one. 2: As of Chapter 569-571 of the manga, Naruto has gained full control of Kurama's power, and became friends with the fox. That's why I'm changing some things about this fic. It just didn't seem like the Naruto I see in the manga._

Chapter 2

Miranda and Shepard were starting to get worried Jacob had returned the day before with there ship and had already started repairs but none of them had even heard a word from Naruto, they asked Tsunade about him but she just said that he was no where in sight not even in the apartment she loaned him just a ruined door. Sakura had asked both of them if they had seen him but they just shook there heads at the pinkette.

It was the day before they decided to leave the planet, Shepard had ordered Miranda to tell nothing of this to the Illusive Man and if she had heard that this got out she would kill her herself. Miranda agreed and destroyed the reports that she had been writing. Tsunade held a party that night and was shocked when Naruto had made an appearance in a new getup. He wore the top half of the original Akatsuki cloak (red and black) with a white shirt underneath, black shinobi pants with a pair of black boots his hair had grown out over the years and was more wild and reached to his shoulders. Sakura was in a blue dress with a large cut up the left side revealing her long smooth leg. Her hair was done up in a pony tail letting her bangs fall down the side of her face, Ino was in the same dress and hair style just her hair was longer and reached down to her waist.

Miranda and Jacob had went back up to the ship and got some dress wear and came back down. Miranda gave Shepard a dress she wouldn't usually look twice at in a store but reluctantly agreed to wear it. It stopped just above her knees and was strapless with a light red in color. Miranda wore a similar dress which was black and had straps. Jacob wore a formal suit along with most other males that were in the room. Naruto had just entered and scanned the room and saw Tsunade beckoning him over to a poker table. He grinned slightly and went over and took up a seat next to her.

"Where have you been?" Tsunade asked as the dealer handed out cards to the players.

"Well you know me I like to disappear every now and then. Plus you told me to get exercise so Neji's nerve thingy would wear off." He smirked back at her. The dealer finished handing out the cards and the betting began everyone folded apart from the two blondes. Tsunade the legendary sucker and Naruto the most unpredictable ninja. Everyone who was near came to watch the poker match and the stakes got higher and higher as more cards got turned over but none were letting anything show on there faces.

"Say Naruto how about we make this interesting hmm?" Tsunade asked with a evil smirk.

"Sure Lady Hokage." He smirked back. "What are your stakes?"

"If I win, you get to keep the pot and also you have to forgive Sakura." Naruto's grin disappeared and Tsunade thought she was about to win before his smirk came back to his old fox like one.

"_She has no idea_," Naruto thought.

"_**Still the devious prankster, Naruto**_," said the fox.

"_Gotta have some fun, fox, and this is it_," Naruto told his biiju, then turned to Tsunade, "Sure, if I win you get to keep the pot and you tell everyone my heritage." Naruto smirked evilly back making Tsunade falter.

"You know what they would do to you then Naruto. They wouldn't let you leave the village." Tsunade whispered to him.

"Then do it when I'm not here." He continued to smirk at her.

"Deal?"

"Deal."

"Please show your cards." The dealer said gesturing to Tsunade. She nodded and flipped her hand and showed she had a four of a kind and she grinned like an idiot the only time she ever got lucky and this bet was as good as hers now. She looked to Naruto but couldn't see through his poker face. "Sir your cards." Naruto nodded and flipped his cards, making Tsunade gasp. Straight flush.

"Looks like a win Lady Hokage." He smiled as he stood up and turned to come face to face with Sakura.

"Naruto!" Tsunade growled at him. "Where the hell did you learned to play poker!" She continued as she stood up and stood between Sakura and the blonde.

"What you think Pervy Sage only taught me some jutsu." He smiled.

"But he sucked at poker!" She yelled at the blonde.

"He only sucked when he played with you hoping he could coax you into a game of Strip Poker." Naruto laughed as Tsunade blushed. "So when I return home I hope I have heard about your little announcement Grandma."

He smirked as he made his way through the crowd to see Shepard grinning like an idiot at him. "Miss 'I don't know how to drive a shuttle' how may I help you this evening?" He grinned at the commander.

"You cheated." She smirked.

"Do you have any proof of this Miss Shepard?" He asked again not faltering at all.

"Oh no Mister Uzumaki I would never be able to prove something as sinister as this." She continued to grin as she lead him over to the bar arm in arm. She sat down on a stool and ordered a drink and he followed. "So why don't you want to apologize to Sakura?" Naruto gave her a slight smirk.

"I really don't want to get into it." Naruto replied as he took a drink of his beverage, "at least not here."

"If your going to be on my crew I have to know my team and I need to know what makes them tick, I might as well start with you." She smiled back to him.

"Well alright then. You know my name. I'm only twenty one, the last two years of my life I have been on the run from bounty hunters, and hunter nins." He started. "I was born an orphan, my mother died in child birth, and my father died in a jutsu." Shepard and Miranda had learned a lot about what jutsu were as they had passed a few training fields in there days here and Sakura had explained it to them. "So when I was four years old I was kicked out of the orphanage and had to defend myself for five years until I was nine when the previous Hokage bought me my own apartment, it wasn't much but it was home. I was then entered in at the ninja academy, I didn't pass until I was twelve years old. When I did finally pass I learned why the village hates me so much."

"Why is that?"

"I'm a jinchuriki." Shepard raised an eyebrow at him and he continued. "It means that I am a container for a demon." He said as he looked into his glass. "There are nine great demons in this land and there strength is determined by the number of how many tails they have, I have Kurama, the nine tails." Shepard's eyes went wide as she realized that the villages looked down on him even tho he probably has saved them dozens of times.

"So they hate you over something you can't control?" Naruto nodded.

"My father the fourth Hokage sealed Kurama in me when I was born when he was attacking the village." Naruto sighed again, "Funny thing is, Kurama was being controlled by the guy I defeated in the war, Tobi. Dad thought he was some ancient Uchiha who died decades ago."

"But if your father was a Hokage shouldn't you have been treated differently?"

"By rights yes, but they didn't know that's what Granny Tsunades little announcement is going to be." He gave a small chuckle. "As soon as I leave I won't be able to see there reactions as there is no possible way to determine weather or not we will survive the mission." He smiled while thinking about what there reactions would be. "When I graduated I was put on a team with Sakura and Sasuke. Sasuke is the guy over there in the black suit and looks like he has a ducks ass on his head and Sakura is the pinkette who rushed in on your first meeting with the Hokage." He said turning around in his chair and pointing at each.

"I've meet Sakura. She let us know a few things about what chakra is and the use of it." She said with a small smile.

"When we first started out we were probably the worst team in team work and probably still are. Sakura was a fan-girl Sasuke was an Avenger with a stick so far up his ass he could probably sprout leaves out the top of his head if he really tried."

"And you?"

"I was head over heels for Sakura."

"I see."

"When Sasuke went rogue I was sent on the retrieval mission but after that day I always new that I would be second in Sakura's heart even if I was able to get her on one date or maybe start a relationship with her. Sasuke would always be her first where she would always be mine. So I stopped loving her the best I could."

"It was a hard decision I take it?" Naruto nodded.

"I guess I'll always have some sort of feelings for Sakura, but over the years, I guess they're just not as strong as they were back when I was a kid. During a battle against a really tough opponent, Pain, another girl, Hinata, who I had known as long as I had everyone else in my age group, told me she loved me. Hell of a thing to hear, right before she's slaughtered by the guy you're fighting. Thing is, I really don't have that strong of a feeling for her, either. Now, mind you, Nagato/Pain brought back everyone he killed during the invasion, so Hinata's alive. I just don't see her as she sees me. As for Sasuke and Sakura, I'll tell you later. It's a LOOOONG story."

"I've made some hard decisions to." Naruto looked to her. "Two years ago I had a very delicate situation between two of my crew members. I could only save one of them. I would have to leave one of them behind to die on Virmire."

"What happened?"

"I had just left Kaiden Alenko to arm the Nuke, and was going to get Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams. When I got out of the elevator I saw a ship pass over head and go straight for Alenko. Ashley told me to go back for him but I went for her instead hoping that there would be time. There wasn't." She said as tears threatened to fall down her cheeks.

"He was important to you?" She nodded not trusting her voice.

"I thought that I would be able to be with him after the mission was completely over and start a life outside the military." She said as she finished of her drink. "But when life gives you lemons..."

"You say fuck the lemons I'm going home." Naruto chuckled.

"I was going to say you make lemonade, or a lemon meringue pie, your choice, but your way seems more sufficient." She smiled. She rose from her chair and offered Naruto a small smile. "Thanks for the talk Naruto, if you ever need anything before we hit the Omega 4 relay don't be hesitant I will always go out of my way for a friend."

"Thanks Jane." He replied with a small smile as she walked away.

"Anything else for you tonight sir?" The bartender asked.

"Another couple of these should be good." The bartender nodded and made the drinks and served them to him. Tsunade and Sakura had been talking for a while as they both watched Naruto take his drinks one at a time while he talked to the bartender and more drinks were put in front of him.

"Is he going to be OK Lady Tsunade?" Sakura asked.

"I'm not totally sure Sakura, he has faced down everything Tobi and Akatsuki could throw at him, and he has probably come face to face with the Nine tails on several occasions, so there's really no telling." Tsunade replied as she sat down at her table.

"Is it true that Jane and Miranda call his next mission a suicide mission?" She asked while still looking towards the blonde man. Tsunade nodded her head sadly. "Then why let him go?"

"Sakura you know as much as I do that if I didn't let him go on this mission he would find his own way. Plus I made him promise to me that he would come back alive." Sakura smiled at that.

"So he is still a man of honor then?" A voice came from behind them to reveal Kakashi in a suit still with his face mask on.

"Yes Kakashi he will still fulfill any promises that he makes." Tsunade replied with a smile.

"Kakashi sensei why not go talk with him?" Sakura asked.

"I could ask you the same Sakura." He sighed. "I was never really a teacher to Naruto. He learned more from Jiraiya, than he did from me. We were almost equals when he came back from his training trip. I taught him tree climbing and what his elemental chakra was he did the rest and still he is probably the most powerful person in the elemental nations."

"He doesn't hate us, though, Sensei," Sakura stated, "You know he has never been able to hold a grudge. When we met Sasuke for the first time, after he came back, he asked Sasuke how he could become Hokage, if he couldn't save one friend. Then you remember what happened when he saved both of us from Sasuke, before the war. That wasn't the acts of a man with a grudge. It was the actions of a man who hadn't given up hope for his friend."

"That brat," Tsunade thought, "He didn't tell me that during the game."

Ino looked over to the three from the other table and saw that Naruto was on his umpteenth drink and was all giddy. He was flirting with the female bartender who had taken over for the previous one after his shift had finished and she had a large blush covering her face as he made comments on how she looked. _"What happened to you, Naruto? I never knew you to drink like that."_ Ino thought to herself as she watched the blonde.

"Ino are you alright?" Shikamaru asked from her side.

"yeah im fine Shikamaru I just need some air." Shikamaru nodded and followed the blonde outside as he needed a smoke.

Naruto was drunk not completely smashed but getting there, he had always loved that he could get drunk and not feel the after effects the next day because of the nine tails. He always heard the fox growling the next morning and always thought if he went to go see him there would be a large over sized bucket inside the cage as he watched the demon throw up. He chuckled at the thought and continued flirting until he got a tap on his shoulder. Naruto looked back over his shoulder and saw Sasuke standing there his suit had the Uchiha crest on the left side of the chest.

"Can I help you with something?" Naruto replied slightly sluggish.

"Naruto I think you have had enough." Sasuke replied as he gripped the blondes shoulder tighter. "Leave the bartender alone and go home for the night." The bartender looked to Sasuke with a frown on her face she was actually enjoying his company and he would even let her go when she had a customer to serve but she always made her way back to the blonde.

"He has a point, kid. Every time you start drinking, I pay for it in the morning," the fox slurred.

"Whoa," Naruto said with slurred speech, "Stereo. You both have a point, plus, I'm leaving in the morning. Having a hangover when going off world can't be good."

"We'll help you get home," Sasuke told the blonde, "What are friends for, right? Choji, a hand please?"

The heavyset Akimichi came over and helped Sasuke walk Naruto back home.

"I guess you're right," Tsunade said to Sakura, "He really doesn't hold a grudge."

XXXXXXXXXX

Shepard, Miranda and Jacob stood at the shuttle at the gate of the village waiting for there new team member. Tsunade along with Shizune, Sakura and Sasuke stood at the gates and were waiting for the blonde. It had been about an hour of waiting when Kakashi arrived.

"Yo."

"Your late!" Tsunade growled.

"Well you see I thought I left the oven on so I had to go back and make sure it was turned off didn't want to burn the house down." He said with an eye smile making the Leaf villagers sweat drop at his new excuse.

"We wouldn't want that now would we Kakashi, I mean if the house burns down then the village would be at risk am I right?" Naruto said as he appeared behind Kakashi back to back.

"Uh... yeah... exactly Naruto." Kakashi said not use to people agreeing with him.

"Well lets go." Naruto said with a smile as he stood with the three near the shuttle.

"Be careful Naruto." Kakashi said as he raised his hand in a departing gesture.

"yeah Naruto and remember your promise." Tsunade smiled at him as she hugged the younger blonde.

"Don't forget the announcement Granny Tsunade." Naruto replied as he watched the older blonde twitch in his arms.

"If I have to come find you like I did when you tried to escape the hospital I won't be happy." Shizune said as she hugged her surrogate brother.

"Trust me Shizune you won't have to." He said pulling back from the hug and smiling at her.

"Naruto..." Sakura started. "Please be safe out there, I won't be there to heal you up like previous times." She chuckled a little. "I mean, don't be reckless OK." She went to hug him and hesitated but her eyes opened wide when he hugged her and tears fell from her eyes.

"Ill try not to be Sakura." He whispered in her ear. She nodded and had to wipe her cheeks as they were stained with tears.

"Dobe." Sasuke started as he approached.

"Teme." Naruto replied as he stood there. "I guess ill see you around." He said as he offered his hand. Sasuke looked at him before smiling and braced his arm with Naruto's.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do out there, and try and make a good first impression would ya." He smiled. Naruto entered the shuttle after Jacob and sat down and watched as the door closed hiding the faces of the group outside.

"What's with the change of heart Naruto?" Shepard asked.

"A few long talks with old friends, and a lot of thought." Naruto replied.

_(Flash back)_

Naruto had left with Sasuke. After a few short hours rest, he was feeling a lot better, so he went where he usually did when he had something on his mind. He had just got to the top of the Hokage monument and sat down on the fourth's head.

"Yo Naruto." Kakashi's voice came from behind him.

"Kakashi-sensei." Naruto replied.

"You already forgave Sasuke and Sakura?" Kakashi said as he sat down behind him his back up against the blonde's.

"yeah," Naruto said, "Jiraiya always said he wanted to do something about all the hatred, and I can't follow his example, if I have that same hatred in my heart. I had to confront all of it when I started training to master Kurama's power."

"Your father was my sensei, Naruto. I still can't believe I didn't see it in you when I became yours. Jiraiya taught you well. Just promise me, whatever you choose to do, you'll at least survive this mission."

"You know I can't guarantee that, sensei. This mission is so unlike..." Naruto said as he stood up.

"I want you to promise me Naruto say the words." Kakashi said as he stood up and looked over the village.

"I promise you Kakashi that I will do all I can to survive this mission" He said as he dived off the edge of the Hokage monument. Kakashi went wide eyed and peered over the edge to see him land gracefully on his feet.

"_Show off."_ Kakashi smiled as he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

_(Flash back end)_

Shepard nodded and told Jacob to take off.

"You should hold on Naruto since this is your first time its going be to awkward." Shepard smiled at him. There was an agreement from Jacob and the shuttle jolted upwards and Naruto hit the floor from where he was sitting as he was forced down to the floor from his seat.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked.

"I told you to hang on." Shepard laughed at him. Naruto stood up and sat back in his seat and held onto the grip above his head with one hand and did the most stupidest thing, he looked out the window. They had already traveled over the tree line and were in the clouds and he started to panic even more when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Naruto, just take a deep breath." Shepard said reassuring him. The outside went black as they left the planet's atmosphere and headed for the Normandy. Naruto reluctantly looked out the window again and smiled he could see the stars.

"I was just thinking before you almost hit me what it would be like to fly among the stars." He smiled.

"Well Jacob bring us into the Normandy." Miranda said and they entered the docking bay and landed with another jolt.

"Does it always do that?" Naruto asked as he stood from the floor of the shuttle.

"Afraid so, you will get use to it."

"Or we could install seat belts." Shepard growled at her as she had the same thing happen to her when they first landed on Naruto's planet.

"_Welcome back commander."_ A voice came over the radio.

"Who's that?" Naruto asked.

"That's the A I. It helps Joker run the ship." Shepard said as the shuttle door opened and she stepped out.

"_I don't need this thing telling me how to do my job commander!"_

"And that's Joker, I will take you up to meet him after we figure out where your place will be on the ship." Shepard told him.

"_Commander I heard the conversation just before docking, I think it would be best if he was put into an observation room on the crew deck."_ EDI said over the the radio.

"Good thinking computer." Shepard smirked.

"_My name is EDI not computer."_

"yeah right that." Jokers laugh could be heard from the bridge. Miranda and Jacob headed for the elevator as Naruto looked around the hanger where they had landed.

"This is a ship?" He asked.

"yeah, our previous one got destroyed and I got spaced." Shepard said as she leaned up against the shuttle.

"Spaced?" Naruto asked her.

"yeah I actually died. When the ship blew up, one of the air hoses on the back of my helmet got cut and I floated to a planet below and got cut up pretty bad, Miranda and Jacobs boss patched me back together it took two years."

"Y-your a-a-a ghost!" Naruto yelled at her as he hid behind a crate of some sought.

"I'm not a ghost!" Shepard yelled at him as she threw her helmet at him which he caught. "I'm alive they brought me back to life."

"So your a zombie?"

"Yes im a zombie and want to eat your braiinsss." She said as she put her arms out in front of her and stiffened her legs as she walked towards him making him go pale. "No im not a zombie but the look on your face was priceless." She laughed.

"Jerk." He mumbled under his breath, making her chuckle. Of course, Shepard wasn't the only one laughing.

"_**I like her, Kid**_," Kurama stated, "_**She's got a great sense of humor.**_"

"This is the engineering deck where Miranda and Jacob went before will let you change floors."

"I know what an elevator is." He argued.

"There are four decks on the ship this one being the lowest then the crew deck where the observation rooms are probably where you will be, the command deck and then my personal quarters. By no means are you to enter those quarters unless I invite you up." She winked at him.

"I got it." He replied as they both headed for the elevator. The doors opened on the crew deck and they both stepped out. "How many people are on this thing?" He asked as he took a glance through the opening between the elevator and the port observation room.

"Maybe thirty fifty." Shepard replied as they headed into the observation room there was a bar to the right side of the room while the left had shelves. In the center of the wall of the outside opposite there was a large glass window. Naruto walked up to it and peered out.

"So there is no air out there?" Shepard nodded. "How can something so beautiful be so deadly, but I guess you have to look under the underneath." He smiled as he remembered Kakashi's teachings.

"If your hungry ask the cook he is on this deck, ill try and head for the citadel as soon as possible for some better ingredients like he asked if you need anything just ask someone, I'm usually down here any ways but if I'm not head up to the command deck and talk to Joker if you would like."

"I think I'll stay in here for a little while and get set up." Shepard nodded and left Naruto to his own devices and used the elevator and headed to the command deck.

"Hello Commander you received a few emails while you were down on the planet, I would like to meet this Naruto he seems very pleasant." Kelly said as she saw Shepard smiling.

"I can't remember the last time someone made me laugh as much as he does." She smiled as she went to her computer and looked through her messages. One about a mercenary and another about a thief.

"I will have to talk to him, I was not given a dossier on him." She said smiling.

"Even if you were given a dossier what he does wouldn't even fit on a data pad. Which reminds me would you be able to teach him a few things about the galaxy which he might need to know?"

"Yes of course Commander I'll get some data pads down to him right away and try and transfer them to his language." Shepard nodded and went back to the elevator.

"Well alright then, I'm going to hit the sack for the night." Kelly nodded and went back to her own computer.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto had brought out his scroll with everything that he had sealed within it, konai, shuriken, and some explosive tags he had no idea what the hell he should bring as he knew nothing of what he was fighting or what would even hurt them. He didn't even know if the armor that Shepard said would allow him to use his chakra properly. He sighed as he sat down in front of the window that showed the endless space. He had been on the ship a whole hour and had unpacked all of his clothes and headed for the door when it opened and showed a woman around his age with sandy brown hair.

"Hi?" Naruto said as she blushed.

"Hi I'm Kelly Chambers, you can just call me Kelly." She said.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, or Namikaze. Take your pick." He greeted.

"That's quite a name." She smiled at him.

"Thanks, can I help you with something?" He asked trying not to be rude.

"The commander asked me to bring you down a few data pads so you could learn a few things about how things work out in the galaxy."

"Awesome so what do I need to learn first?" He asked as he walked back into his room and sat down cross legged and she followed him and put the data pads down in front of them.

"First I need you to speak into this without the headset on so that the data pad can get a fix on your language and change the words so you can read it."

"Well alright then." He took the headset of as instructed and spoke a few words and the data pad beeped a few times before the words changed,

"Can your read that?" Kelly asked and Naruto nodded after putting his head set back on. "Alright I'll let you read those and I will come down later to hand some more to you." Naruto started reading and Kelly exited the room hoping that it would be a few hours before he finished reading the data pad as she had made a complete and utter embarrassment of herself. She heard what sounded like a puff sound from behind her but ignored it and went to the elevator.

The elevator doors opened behind her twenty minutes later and Naruto came out with the six data pads in his hands.

"Ah Kelly I'm done." He said while rubbing the back of his head.

"Already!" She almost yelled at him mostly because of the shock of him being right behind her.

"Well you see I have this technique that helps me learn things faster then others." He smiled. "So you might as well get me the rest of those data pads so I can finish them up." Kelly nodded and grabbed the data pads that she had set aside on her desk and handed them to him, they both entered the elevator and went back down to the crew deck and Naruto went back to where he had set up and Kelly went back to get the data pads that she had received. When she went back into Naruto's quarters she dropped all the data pads which made all the Naruto's in the room turn to look at her.

"**Hey Kelly."** They all said in unison. In Naruto's mind, the Fox couldn't stop laughing at the look on Kelly's face.

"_**Naru...to. The look...on her face. PRICELESS!**_" The Biiju said between fits of laughter, and trying to catch his breath.

"Naruto?"

"yeah I'm over here." Naruto said from the left side of the room.

"How are all of these you?"

"It's a technique people use on my world, some don't have the extent to use it like I do as this type is forbidden but I can use it without any risk, everything they learn I learn." He smiled as he helped pick up the data pads.

"Amazing." She said.

"Really? I just thought it as a good distraction in a fight." He smiled. She left him with the data pads and left him to his learning. Naruto finished all thirty two data pads an hour and a half later and when he found out about the other species in the galaxy he was slightly worried at how they would look and how they would react. He had seen some pretty bad stuff when he finished of Kabuto when he brought back the dead but these species would be heavily armed and would have back up. Unlike Kabuto. He searched through his clones memories as he looked out into the emptiness of space once more and came across the weapons and frowned the only weapons that would even cause damage was the explosive tags. He decided to keep the konai and shuriken any ways just in case. He didn't understand most of the stuff around the technology department and figured biotics were a lot like chakra. He layed down on one of the leather couches in the room and fell asleep wondering if it was day or night, he truly didn't know.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was only Naruto's third night on the ship and he was already feeling rebellious he wanted to explore Shepard's quarters mostly, and find out what was in the A I core in the medical lab but that was securely locked and there was no lock to pick. Apparently they were heading to some place called Omega to find Archangel, Mordin Solus and Zaeed Massani. He was told that when they went to get the prespective people that he would have to stay on the ship as he might cause too much attention. Shepard had told him he was too loud even for Omega. He scolded at her making her laugh at him even more.

He was currently sitting in his room looking over the guns that he had been given, a M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol and a M-92 Mantis Sniper Rifle. He hadn't really wanted to use a weapon like this as they were very long ranged but Shepard and even went as far as ordering him to do so as it would save his life in the missions to come, and Naruto wasn't one to disobey orders. He sighed as he read over the dossier for the mercenary and the thief. He wanted to meet this Illusive Man also and Shepard and told him not yet, if anything she was way to over protective over him and was only four years older making her twenty five. He sighed again as he read up on Kasumi Goto, she was apparently a bit like him in the stealth department but had technology to help her where he didn't. He had been given his own armor as well but he had even painted it himself where it started off plain white he painted it black and placed the Akatsuki clouds on it in random places, it was truly unique. He looked over to the digital clock that showed that it was close to mid night far as he could tell it was always midnight being so dark outside. He rose from where he was seated on the floor and headed for the door to go to the mess to get something to eat.

The lights were dimmed down low so you could get the feeling that you should be asleep and he had a feeling that if he was caught he would be in a lot of trouble but shook it off as nothing. He headed for where Rupert would usually be standing during the day, he was always cheerful and what he made with the rations that he had was better then nothing. He opened up a fridge that was under the bench and pulled out a packet of what he could tell was instant noodles and looked around for something to boil some water in when he saw what looked like to be a jug. He looked at it puzzled before he got up real close to it trying to figure out how it worked when he went to push one of the four buttons on it a black gloved hand pressed a button and a red light came on.

"Still not use to it?" Miranda asked. Naruto looked up to her and rubbed the back of his head as he stood up straight.

"Nah not yet, usually Rupert offers to do it for me." He smiled. Miranda nodded and came around and stood beside him and pulled out a cup as she started to make a cup of coffee.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked as she looked over to him.

"Just thinking over a few things it's been a hectic week." Miranda nodded. "So what does a Salarian look like?" Miranda looked to him and smiled.

"You will find out when we bring Mordin on board." She teased.

"Oh come on not even a clue?" He pouted at her.

"Sorry Naruto Commanders orders." She laughed then the jug boiled and made a beeping sound and Miranda picked it up and poured it into her cup and handed it to Naruto and he poured it into his cup of noodles. Miranda walked over to the other seat across from where Naruto was standing and sat down.

"So what's your story?" Naruto asked shocking her.

"Me?" Naruto nodded. "There is no story really." She said with a small frown and looked into her cup of coffee.

"So what you come out here at midnight every night not looking like you have had a break all day every night?" He asked her.

"I have reports to do." She argued.

"And I have things to learn so why not tell me about these reports?"

"They go straight to the Illusive Man." She said taking a sip of coffee.

"Do I get to meet him soon because if he brought Shepard back from the dead I have a few questions to ask him."

"I don't think that would be wise Naruto, the Illusive man is very independent Shepard has seen him more then most, I have only met him in person a few times and some never even hear a word from him."

"Why is that, I mean he helps out so much yet still hides his face don't you think that's a bit shady." He said before shoveling noodles into his mouth.

"It's complicated, anyway I have to go finish my reports Naruto, you should head to bed." She smiled as she grabbed her cup and walked off to her room. Naruto watched her as she walked away and noticed that after a few strides that she had more of a sway in her hips and smirked. He finished his noddles and started to head back to his room when he felt like exploring instead of sleeping and headed for the elevator and hit the button for Shepard's private quarters and grinned to himself. The door swiped open and he went in and saw that Shepard was asleep on her bed her blankets covering most of her body, one foot sticking out and an arm was behind her head. He looked to her desk and found what he was searching for and went to work before he went back down to the crews quarters and went back to his room trying not to laugh.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto awoke before anyone else and headed for the mess hall where he and Miranda had been last night and made himself a coffee before sitting down where Miranda had been sitting last night. After about fifteen minutes people started to come in and make coffee or get something to eat before going to there stations. It was a full hour before everyone on the ship heard a scream of rage. Shepard was awake.

The elevator door hissed open and Shepard came storming out she hadn't even got dressed, still in a pair of pink boxer shorts with a heart on them and a white singlet and her face was covered in water and what looked to be black smudge marks.

"NARUTO!" She screamed as she turned around the corner and headed straight forward to the blonde.

"Yes?" He calmly replied.

"I'm going to kill you!" Through the smudge marks on her face you could just see the words on her forehead that had been tried to be washed away. '_NARUTO WAS HERE!' _Naruto stood up from his chair grinned and disappeared in a swirl of leaves and his laughter could be heard through the ship as he had done so and somehow he had managed to pull down Shepard's boxers revealing a black thong. "NARUTO!" She screamed as she pulled up her boxers with a blush on her cheeks, she just thought that she was lucky as there was only two female crew members to see it.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Kurama were both having a good laugh.

It was three hours later that we find Naruto in a head lock on the floor of the command deck from Shepard giving him a mega noogie. Kelly watched in amusement as she had been one of the women to see the earlier display.

"Come on Jane it was a joke!" Naruto yelled as she continued the noogie.

"yeah well last time I checked making me flash my underwear in the crew quarters wasn't so funny!" She growled at him as she sat on his but stopping the noogie.

"I found it funny." He mumbled.

"What was that!" She said as she started the procedure for another noogie.

"Nothing I'm sorry!" He yelled.

"Good!" She growled at him standing up. "Joker how far are we out from Omega?"

"_About a day commander._" Joker said over the speaker system.

"Alright Naruto for the rest of the day you are not to leave your quarters."

"What!" He shouted as he jumped up.

"It's punishment Naruto."

"What am I a child!" He growled.

"From that little stunt this morning your going to act like a child you will be treated like one."

"Come on Jane it was just a joke, it's boring be cooped up in there all day." He pouted and making a puppy dog face at her. She twitched before she looked away.

"Fine." She mumbled. "But you better not pull any more pranks!" She growled.

"Aye Commander." He saluted with a shit eating grin.

"How did you get into my room anyway?" She asked curiously.

"Now that would be telling wouldn't it." He smiled as he walked up to the bridge to talk with Joker.

"Jerk!" She shouted at him.

"Love you too!" He shouted back. The crew members on the command deck were all speechless at how relaxed they were even tho they both knew what the mission ahead would be like.

Naruto sat next to Joker's leather seat and had been listening to Joker and EDI argue about personal space and what he could have on the bridge with him.

"What about something to cover up her cameras?" Naruto asked.

"Great idea Naruto ill get some grease up here, then every time she looks at me it will be in a dream sequence." Joker laughed. "So Naruto what's your planet like?"

"Well considering that I haven't been to any other planets I wouldn't know how to let you know if it was good or not." Naruto replied.

"yeah I guess that's true." He said as he looked over to the blonde. "I heard about what you did to the Commander I never thought someone would be brave enough to do that to her." He grinned.

"She had it coming but that noogie was not worth it." He said as he rubbed the spot where Shepard's knuckles had been.

"I haven't seen her this happy in two long years, I'm glad that she is truly smiling again."

"yeah I remember Kelly telling me that you use to be apart of the old Normandy crew." Joker nodded. "What was the team like back then?"

"It would seem like we were unstoppable until we lost Kaiden, we almost lost our Krogan too but Shepard managed to bring him around. Tali and Garrus were always fun to talk to when they came to talk with me, Tali was a bit shy but I think that all Quarian's might be, Garrus needed to work that stick out of his ass a little bit but Ashley was a little strict and didn't like aliens all that much but was fun to be around." Joker said. "Then there was Liara, she was definitely a weird one she always stole glances at Kaiden and Shepard but I don't think either of them noticed."

"She was an Asari right?" Naruto asked.

"yeah, I don't get them they only have the gender of females, I don't think I could even live in a society like that once your a man you need to have that dignity that we all have." Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"Well I guess ill go see if Jane has calmed down a bit, ill be back later for you to show me how to fly this thing." Naruto smirked and Joker nodded his head. Naruto walked down the walkway of the bridge and found Kelly talking with Jacob. "Kelly where is Jane?" He asked.

"She went down to talk with Miranda." Kelley smiled at him, he nodded and headed for the elevator. The doors opened and Naruto walked out of them and headed for Miranda's quarters and wandered if it was such a good idea for him to speak to Jane she may still be angry. He headed forward anyway and stopped outside Miranda's door and waited while he picked up there conversation.

"….are you telling me to back off?" Miranda's voice came out harshly. "For one, I haven't even made any speculation of even wanting to be with him!"

"_Are they seriously fighting over some guy?_ _And she called me childish."_ Naruto thought.

"I never said you did!" Shepard said back.

"Then why the hell are you in here!"

"To tell you even if you had any 'speculation' of being with him is that you would have competition." The door hissed open revealing a smirking Shepard which instantly dropped as she saw Naruto.

"Boy troubles." He grinned.

"What the hell were you doing eaves dropping!" She growled.

"Hey hey hey, I didn't mean to, I was just standing out here waiting for you to finish with Miranda, you were the two who were shouting in there." He replied as he pushed himself off the wall.

"You were waiting?"

"yeah you told me that you were going to show me how to shoot a gun today so let's go." He smiled as Shepard turned around and smirked at the seething Miranda after hearing there conversation. Naruto headed off and headed for the elevator and waited for Shepard who arrived just after him and they went down to the engineering deck. They walked to the training area on the ship and Shepard pulled out her pistol and handed it to Naruto.

"Alright see those targets?" Naruto nodded as he saw the moving targets. "Pull the trigger and hit the targets." Naruto nodded again and held the pistol up with two hands and looked to Shepard who nodded and he lined up his shot and fired. Shepard had to gasp as it was a bulls eye on the first shot.

"So how did I do?" Naruto asked as he lowed the gun.

"Fluke do it again." Shepard said and looked to the grinning Naruto who aimed up his shot and sent off more then one and she had to look towards the targets and saw that two had bulls eyes and one had just off by a few center meters. "OK so it wasn't a fluke. I thought you said you didn't know how to shoot a gun?"

"I don't I just have a really good perspective." He smiled at her. "So tell me, who was this guy you and Miranda were arguing about?" He said as he sat on a crate and Shepard stood where he was and lined up her shot with her pistol.

"He's no one." She said as she fired and just barley hit the target and hit another one just below the bulls eye and another dead on.

"It didn't sound like no one, so tell me is it Jacob?" He asked Shepard looked to him and smirked.

"Why so curious Naruto? Jealous?" She smiled as she walked over to him.

"Why would I be jealous?" Naruto asked.

"Oh I don't know maybe you have a thing for Miranda?" She smirked at him.

"Nah she may be good looking but I don't know her all that well, I like to get to know someone before I jump into bed with them." He replied back.

"Really?" She asked and he just nodded his head as he took the pistol from her and lined up his shot.

"So who is he?" Naruto asked as he put a thermal clip into the pistol and relined up his shot, while Jane leaned over and whispered in in his ear.

"What if I said that it was you." **BANG **the bullet went straight past the target and hit a metal crate.

"Why would you be arguing about me?" He asked as he turned around to see her blushing a little bit. Shepard stood up and headed for the elevator.

"I'm going to go and get something to eat I'll talk to you later." She said as she walked away. _"What the hell he asks me a simple question and I get all flustered, I've faced down what most wouldn't even dream of facing, I faced down Sovereign and told it that it was only a machine and could be made as scrap and then faced off with Saren, I even looked death in the face and I cant even tell him what he means to me. I should be able to handle this!" _She screamed to herself in her head. _"But is it too soon?"_ She finished as she stood in the elevator and watched as he fired more rounds into the targets never faltering and she thought that she could see him blushing a little.

XXXXXXXXXX

Shepard, Miranda and Jacob had all left the Normandy after they had docked on Omega. Naruto wanted to get out and explore the space station but was told to stay on the ship. He knew that Shepard was right in this but he was just to anxious to get out there.

"Oi Joker, do you reckon she would be pissed if I took a little excursion on my own?" He asked.

"_Mr Namikaze I would suggest that you do not questions the Commander's orders."_ EDI's voice came back to him.

"He wasn't talking to you!" Joker growled at the A I. "But it has a point Naruto she would be pissed if you left the ship."

"But I just want to get out of here!" He growled. "Like come on even you get to leave the ship from time to time right!" He yelled.

"yeah I guess I do." Joker replied.

"That's it ill be back in an hour if she comes back tell her I will take full responsibility for it all." Joker nodded and Naruto went to get his armor and weapons. He headed for the entrance of the ship and was stopped by the annoying blue ball.

"_I must insist Mr Namikaze."_

"And I must get out of this ship." He replied as he walked past it and the door opened and he looked out only to see that the lights were a dimmed red and the walls looked old and rusty. "This is going to be awesome." He said to himself as he walked past a Batarian who growled at him and kept walking past. He looked back to the alien and smirked.

"_**Should be interesting, at least**_," Kurama said back to the blonde shinobi, "_**Beats being stuck on the ship all the time.**_"

"Hey you!" He heard a voice call to him as he opened a door and saw a line of people. "Oi!" the voice came again and Naruto turned around and saw that a human was calling him over. "Your new here aren't you?"

"yeah what's it you?" Naruto asked, then thought, "_Who's this? He kinda makes Konohamaru look like Pain_."

"_**Have to agree, Kid,**_" the fox thought back, "_**He's not that intimidating.**_"

"I think you an I should be partner I mean were both new here obviously both humans, we should help each other out." He said.

"And who exactly are you?"

"Name's Fist, I just got here last month and have been looking for a decent business partner slash body guard. You look like you would be good for both." He smiled.

"What type of name is fist?"Naruto asked and all he did was sweat drop.

"_What is this kid an idiot?"_ Fist looked at him and smiled. "I think we would get along great kid. What's your name?"

"Naruto, and sorry but I have a very important mission to complete. So I can't take your offer." Naruto said as he started to walk away. He heard a gun being loaded behind him and turned and pulled the weapon out of fist's hands and aimed it at his head.

"Hey whoa I was just kidding come on!" Fist said as he dropped to his knees.

"I'm keeping this, you better not come near this place or near me again or I'll use it, you hear me?" Fist nodded and Naruto placed Fist's weapon on his opposite hip of the other pistol and walked away and headed for the line to what looked like a club with the sign for Afterlife above it.

"You there?" A voice came from his left and he saw a Batarian with a assault rifle. "I like the way you handled Fist, you can go straight in, he has been a pain in my ass for the last couple of weeks, I really appreciate the help with that."

"Thanks." Naruto replied and walked into the club and was surrounded by screens with flames. The doors on the opposite side of the hallway opened and he could hear music or what sounded like music and went through and his eyes opened wide. There was a large pillar in the middle of the room with a screen that went all the way around it with a dancing blue woman on it in a very revealing outfit. There was a railing around it with more of the blue woman with the same outfits dancing. "Whoa." Naruto was speechless.

"_**Now THIS is what I call a target rich environment**_."

"_Not now, Fox_."

"Nice huh you should check the VIP lounge, it's bigger and better." The alien behind the bar said he had a long neck and two horned like tentacles out the top of his head that angled inwards and were different sizes. "Can I get you anything?" He asked as Naruto walked up to him.

"I was looking for some information." Naruto said.

"You should go talk with Aria, she might be able to help you." Naruto nodded and the Salarian directed him towards the back and he could see the guard at the stairs. He walked over to him and the guard just grunted at him.

"Ah right I was told to come see Aria about some information." The guard gestured with his gun up the stairs and Naruto obliged and went up the stairs and four more Batarian's pointed there weapons at him, he raised his hand up in a defensive motion.

"Who are you?" Asked the Asari.

"Uh my name is Naruto, I was looking for some information on someone known as Archangel."

"Why is everyone asking about him today let me guess you want to know about Mordin to?" Aria asked.

"No, I believe the Commander is getting him." Naruto smiled. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go for your life." Aria smiled at him. "So your on Commander Shepard's team then?" Naruto nodded. "I should have guessed as soon as I saw you walk into the club. She came in heavily armed with two others."

"That would be her." Naruto smiled.

"When they first entered the two woman were arguing about something before they came up to talk to me."

"So you must be Aria the one the bartender told me to see." Aria nodded. "Do you have information on Archangel."

"Yes I do, there are three mercenary bands after him and you could join as a free lancer to get him."

"_**Good a way as any to get in. Out is another thing all together.**_"

"Where is the recruiting station?"

"Down stairs to your left."

"Thanks for the information." He thanked her and stood up from the couch.

"Just remember that when I need something from you." Aria smirked at him. "And I always need something."

"Ah yeah, I'll help out any way that I can." Naruto replied as he stood up and headed for the stairs.

"What's your name?" Aria asked him.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto replied as he walked down the stairs and headed for the mercenary recruiting station. "Ah is this the place to go after Archangel?"

"yeah it is, you look like you could pack a punch, you have your own weapons and armor which is good. You get your pay after the job is done, no one collects your cut if you die. This does not mean you are apart of the Blood back, Eclipse or the Blue suns. Head on up to the transit station and talk with the Batarian driver."

"Well alrighty then." Naruto smiled as he turned around and bumped into someone that looked younger then he did.

"Is this the place to sign up for the mercenary mission?"

"How old are you kid?" Naruto asked.

"Old enough I just picked up this pistol for fifty credits and want to try it out." He replied. Naruto snatched the gun away from him and aimed it at his head.

"I may not know all that much but fifty credits doesn't sound like a lot." He pulled the trigger only for the gun to short out and start smoking. The kid ran out of the room and Naruto headed for the transit station. Where he talked with the Batarian and smiled as he got into the car. "Can I drive?"

"No." Was the Batarian's reply as he took off. The car sped off and Naruto held on this time as he didn't want to end up on the floor of the car. The car stopped a short while later and Naruto asked the driver what the time was he had already been off the ship for forty five minutes.

"_Guess I'll be off the ship for more then an hour."_ He grinned as he listened to the Batarian tell him to go up and see Sargent Kathka. Naruto walked up the stairs and headed through the door to come face to face with the eclipse leader who looked pissed off and was mumbling something about good for nothing free lancers he continued on and found what looked like a giant robot with a computer terminal. He walked over to the terminal and decided what the hell and pressed a bunch of random buttons. There was some beeping and then a warning sign but ignored it and went and searched for the Sargent. He walked across a walk way and saw a merc get taken down and he smiled. _"This is going to be fun."_He walked over to a gunship and asked one of the mercs if they were Sargent Kathka. They shook there heads no and pointed behind them to show a Batarian with a welder in his hands, he walked over to a crate and put the welder down and grabbed a cigarette and walked back over to Naruto.

"Your the new recruit then?" He asked.

"I take it your Sargent Kathka?" The Batarian nodded as he took a draw of his cigarette and blew it in Naruto's face. Naruto waved his hand around. "Are you leading the Assault?"

"Ha ha, yeah right, that's what you free lancers are for." He laughed as a voice came over his radio. "Time to move out. Where did I put that?" He asked himself as he bent over to the gunship. Naruto looked over to the welder and smirked.

"Your working to Hard." Naruto said as he placed the wielder on the back of Kathka's armor sending a jolt through his system killing him. Naruto walked over to where all the free lancer's were and joined them.

"_**Good shot, Kid**_," Kurama stated, "_**1 less to worry about on the way out.**_"

"Lets do this." One said.

"_I don't think there going to like me after this."_ Naruto smirked as he jumped over the railing and headed straight for the base several sniper rounds landed near him but he easily maneuvered around them letting them hit the others. A few free lancer's were before him, he drew his pistol and aimed for the first one and took him down with a well placed head shot. As the free lancer fell to the ground the other looked at him and opened fire on the blonde. _"Didn't think this would happen!"_ He thought as he took cover and the bullets rained over head. He peered around the corner from his cover and pulled his new pistol out that he got from fist. _"That guy had good taste in weapons at least."_ He shot two of the free lancers and jumped up to the second floor shocking everyone on the first. One of them was trying to break into the top room and he fired a single shot killing the man but not before the door opened. He pulled out his sniper rifle and finished off the remaining three on the first floor. He pulled out his pistol and looked into the room, and saw an alien in blue armor with a helmet on. He let off a shot and Naruto could see a free lancer fall to the ground.

The alien looked towards him and aimed his rifle at him and Naruto raised his weapon in return.

"Hey wait a minute!" Naruto yelled at him. The alien looked at him and took of his helmet he had a blue eye targeting system over his right eye and was obviously a turian. "I'm looking to recruit you not kill you."

"What merc group are you with?" He replied harshly.

"I'm not in a merc group, my name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, Shepard wants you on her crew." Naruto said hoping to convince him.

"Shepard? Commander Shepard?" Naruto nodded. "She's dead." He replied.

"yeah I heard about that but some group calling themselves Cerberus brought her back." There was gunfire down below and Garrus let his guard down for a second and looked down. To his shock there was Shepard herself.

"It's Shepard." Naruto went to shock and ran to the side and looked down.

"Crap she is going to kill me!" He screamed as he started to panic.

"I thought you were apart of her crew!" He shouted back.

"I am, I just wasn't meant to leave the ship!" He said as he sounded scared. "I had to put up with her mega noogie yesterday!" He chuckled at that but gave Shepard some help and shot a mech who was coming up behind her. Shepard looked up and to her shock saw Garrus. She ran inside leaving Miranda and Jacob to look after the remaining mechs and ran up the stairs where she saw Naruto's failed attempt at hiding himself.

"Garrus what are you doing here?" She asked as he smiled at her.

"Well, just getting to know your new team mate at the moment. I hear you gave him a noogie." He grinned.

"Naruto, what did I say about staying on the ship!" She growled.

"It's boring on the ship all the time!" He argued with her. Miranda and Jacob came up the stairs to find Naruto and Shepard arguing.

"When did he get here?" Jacob asked and Miranda just shrugged her shoulders.

"Uh guys I don't mean to sound like a wimp but we have three groups of mercs coming for us, and both of your little displays probably gave them something to argue about and probably ticked some of the big boys off." Garrus said as everyone turned to him.

"He's right." Miranda agreed. There was a loud bang down stairs and everyone turned.

"What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

"They had to use there brains eventually." Garrus replied. He looked over his shoulder to see Eclipse mercs coming over the bridge. "Were going to need to go into teams of two. Ill stay up here." Garrus suggested.

"Alright I'll take Miranda and Jacob with me, Naruto you stay up here and Help Garrus out OK." Naruto nodded with a smirk and pulled out his sniper rifle.

"Well Garrus let's get to work shall we?" Naruto suggested and got a smirk from Garrus.

"It's fun being on Omega and all but fighting the Reapers again should be fun, even though I can't just point and shoot off Omega." He laughed and Shepard shook her head and left down the stairway. Garrus took down a few mechs as they came and Naruto did the same both not talking but would give the other a grin when they made a decent shot. Garrus was directing Shepard where to go as Naruto took out a few more mechs and came a few Salarian's.

"So the eclipse are finally coming out." Garrus smirked. "Shepard there is only one more door to go."

"Ah Garrus what's that big square robot thing?" Naruto asked.

"Crap it's a heavy mech aim for it's head." Garrus replied as he started on the eclipse members. Naruto nodded and shot it a few times before it unfolded while it was still in the air and it's shields became visible.

"Take this Archangel!" The head of the eclipse shouted out. The mech started to unfold and stood up straight and looked around and saw the eclipse members and immediately started firing.

"So that's what the warning was for." Naruto said as he watched the massacre.

"Warning?" Garrus asked.

"yeah I found a little computer thing and started to press buttons then a warning thing came up." Naruto replied as Garrus sweat dropped.

"I don't know if your stupid or just completely naive but you just saved our asses."

"_**More like a Fox's luck**_."

"_In the middle of a firefight, Kurama_."

"That's me." Naruto replied with a smile on his face as he started to attack the eclipse Mercenaries. There was a loud bang after the Eclipse Mercenaries had stopped coming and Garrus ran down to the other balcony and looked down to see a group of Krogan and Vorcha came through the bottom door. There was a loud explosion and Garrus turned back to see Naruto with a smug look on his face rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry couldn't resist." As he finished the heavy mechs head landed between them and Garrus smirked as Naruto laughed.

"We got Krogan down stairs, do you have an Assault rifle?" Garrus asked.

"Ah no just these two pistols and sniper rifle." Garrus chucked him a assault rifle and Naruto handled it before grinning. "I think we are going to get along fine, Garrus." The turian just smirked back to him.

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Shepard we need your help up here. The blood pack has broken through." _Garrus said over the radio.

"_Holy crap that's huge!"_ She could hear Naruto's voice coming over it too.

"_Naruto what the hell are you doing!"_ Garrus shouted still on the radio.

"Garrus what's going on!" Shepard ordered. There was a pause before Garrus came back on.

"_Ah Commander your going to have to see this for yourself, I can't explain it." _Garrus said in shock.

"Let's get up there now!" Shepard yelled as the final door closed. The three took off running back to the main room and ran straight through the main door to see all dead Krogan and Vorcha. Then there was the biggest Krogan they have ever seen get thrown off the balcony where Garrus had been and saw Naruto jump down his weapons on his back.

Naruto grinned as he walked over to the now standing Krogan who threw a punch that went over Naruto's shoulder as he dodged and punched the Krogan with incredible speed in the ribs through his armor making it crack a little and saw that there was a kunai embedded in it. Naruto kicked the Krogan's legs out from underneath him and punched him in the face, When the Krogan hit the ground he made a crater of where he landed on the floor his face severely bruised.

"Holy shit." Garrus said from the upper level as he looked down. "Commander, I have no idea where you got him, but he just saved my life by killing that Krogan. I can't believe he did it with no weapons." Three jaws dropped and Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"I shot his weapon out of his hand as he was charging didn't I." Naruto argued.

"yeah then kicked his ass off the balcony!" Garrus shouted at him.

"How many is left?" Shepard asked coming out of her shock and walking up the stairs.

"Well we have dealt with the Eclipse and the Blood Pack so just the Blue Suns." Garrus replied as he looked through his scope. There was a raw of the engine and the gun ship hover up the side of the building making everyone take cover. "I thought I took that thing out!"

"It's not fully fixed." Naruto told him and Garrus nodded as he pulled out his assault rifle and fired a volley of rounds into the shields. The gun ship turned to him and fired at Garrus and he fell to the ground blue blood forming around him.

"Garrus!" Naruto and Shepard shouted. Naruto pulled out his assault rifle and ran at the gunship dodging the line of bullets that it fired at him and dived off from the ledge of the balcony onto the gunship much to the Blue Sun's commander's shock. Naruto pointed the gun at the glass and fired, the shields held for a moment before they dropped and the pilot was killed and the gun ship went spiraling down and Naruto jumped off and landed on the bridge linking the two buildings.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto, Jacob and Shepard were standing around the table in the meeting room waiting for the report from Dr Chakwas.

"We did all we could Commander, but I don't know if it will be enou-" He was cut off by the door sliding open and Garrus walking through. "Tough son of a bitch." Jacob finished as he walked past Garrus and left to his post.

"Nobody gave me a mirror, how bad is it?"

"It's going to show buddy." Shepard said with a small smile.

"Chicks love a man with scars." Garrus grinned and Shepard only shook her head, "Of course, most of those women are Krogan."

"Naruto we need to talk about why you left the ship." Shepard said as she turned to him. He gulped and braced for the lecture but none came. "If you weren't there we may not have made it, thank you." Naruto smiled at her and nodded.

"Thank you as well, Naruto. I heard how you took down that gunship, pretty impressive." Garrus replied as Naruto grinned.

"It's no problem. I'll be in my quarters."

"So commander where did you pick him up?" Shepard laughed a little as she told him off finding Naruto's species.

_A/N: This chapter was pretty much easy to do. All I had to do was fix grammatical errors, and throw in an occasional Kurama one-liner. Kurama will have a big part to play later on. On a side note, folks, I've always said, "If you can't say something nice, or at least constructive, then don't say anything at all." Well, that last part was actually, "Keep your fucking mouth shut", but that's not the point. If you're going to send flames in reviews, please, don't bother. _


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Kasumi Goto was the newest member of the Normandy crew, she had spoken to Shepard when she first went to the citadel and was told to board the ship whenever she was ready. She was a master thief, not known by many and that was the way that she liked it. She couldn't be a thief if everyone in the galaxy knew of her right? She had been brought upon the Normandy and had instantly went to one of the observation rooms to only find that it was occupied already by a blonde who looked a year older then she did. The strange thing was that he was sitting on the glass that was of the window, his back was facing the ground while he was facing the roof. She had almost screamed when he bent his head back had rolled his eyes into the back of his head and muttered 'I'm going to eat you!', showing his grown canines she ran out of the room and went straight for the other observation deck, she could swear that he could shout after her 'that was meant for Shepard!' she was contemplating on whether or not to go down to engineering. She had told Shepard what had happened and she said that she would have a few words with the blonde about idiotic pranks, but Kasumi could see that she was trying to hide a devilish grin. That was two days ago.

Naruto was sitting in his room looking out the window into space, he knew that this mission was dangerous but he was never one to not look danger in the face and not continuously make fun of it for some idiotic reason, but he had yet to see what these Collectors where made off. He wasn't one for waiting even when he fought Madara he didn't really expect to survive he just charged in with the full force of Kurama's chakra from the beginning, he even fought recklessly against Sasuke hoping a hit would take his life but Sasuke was just to damn predictable.

"_**When are we going to get to fuck some shit up again?**_**"** The fox asked from within the seal.

"_When we get another ground mission."_ Naruto replied.

"**Teh."** Was all he got in response.

"Naruto what are you doing?" Kelley asked from behind him. She had come down with some more data pads for him to read.

"Hey Kelly I was just thinking about some stuff, nothing important." He smiled at her. She smiled back and sat next to him cross legged like he was.

"I brought you some more data pads, there are a few more dossiers in there that the Illusive man has forwarded to the Commander." She continued to smile. "I heard that you and Garrus played some tricks on the Commander Yesterday." She smiled and she only got a devilish grin in return.

_(Flash back)_

Naruto and Garrus were on the engineering deck, looking through the shuttle when they heard footsteps behind them. Shepard was standing there in her usual attire that she wore aboard the Normandy most of the male personal were all on the engineering deck and she had no idea why, even Joker was down here, he had limped out of the elevator after she had when it came back down. She looked around to find all the male personal standing behind her.

"What is with everyone today?" She asked looking around and she could hear Naruto and Garrus trying not to laugh behind her. She looked back at the two and eyed them suspiciously before they broke out into full blown laughter. "What the hell is the matter with you two!" She growled. There was a loud wolf whistle from up on the balcony which came from the one and only Zaeed Massani.

"Nice panties there Shepard." He grinned as he walked back into his little trash room. Shepard glanced down and saw that there was nothing wrong but when she looked at her ass, both cheeks were fairly visible through the hole that had been cut with pink underwear with a logo saying 'Spank Me' in black letters printed across it. Naruto and Garrus continued to laugh and the rest even Joker bailed on the two.

"Your both dead!" She yelled.

"It was all Garrus idea!" Naruto yelled as he burst into smoke showing that he was a clone.

"Oh, you backstabbing ass monkey!" Garrus shouted as Shepard attacked him.

_(Flash back end)_

"yeah that was fun." Naruto smiled remembering how he had spanked her right on her left ass cheek that same night when she had started to leave after coming down to speak with him, only for her to look over her shoulder with an innocent look and a small pouting smile and say. 'Spank me Harder Next time' He was completely and utterly stunned by that as she left.

"_**That wasn't just fun, Kid, that was CLASSIC**_."

"_And here I thought you were in a bad mood._"

"_**Just bored**_."

"You two get along well, Joker and Garrus seem to like her smiling." Kelly said as she stood up. "It's late I should probably get going, Shepard has gone with Kasumi for a mission and when she gets back she is going to help Zaeed with a few things that he wants settled." Naruto nodded and she left after a while of thinking about what he was going to do after the final mission. He fell asleep after that and awoke when he had a dream of when he was a child and he was being beaten again. He sighed as he stood up and decided that he should work on his jutsu as they seemed weaker when he was inside his armor for some reason. He stealthily made his way to the engineering deck, hoping not to run into Garrus as he was not a very decent person in the morning's especially very very early in the morning. The engineering deck was where the training room was and he got into his armor. He had to chuckle as he looked at the red clouds he must say that they were stylish in there own way.

The room was quite large and had white walls, there were weapons along the walls and it was near indestructible. When he had first wanted to try out a rasengan in space this is where he did it only for it to be tiny. He stood in the training room and made a clone.

"_After all these years I still can't make one on my own."_ He smiled to himself. He placed his hand out and the clone knew what to do as it started channeling it's own chakra along with Naruto's chakra and a small blue sphere started to create itself but didn't go past that. Naruto forced more Chakra into it along with the clone and his armor started to shock him visible lightning was manifesting itself in the small room, without warning the rasengan grew larger then it was meant to and exploded in his face dispelling the clone and sounding the alarm on the ship. Naruto was unconscious when he was taken to the med bay and Dr Chakwas was in shock when they finally got the ruined armor of him, his body was riddled with small cuts and his left side of his Torso had a massive scar over where his heart was and when she saw the back it went right through meaning that he should be dead. What drew the Doctors attention was that the new wounds that he had just inflicted on himself were already starting to heal at a massive rate. She was in awe.

It was four days before Naruto awoke and found that there was a weight on his arm when he opened his eyes he saw a mass of red hair and knew exactly who it was. She stirred in her sleep as Naruto saw where he was. _"No matter where I go it's always the hospital."_ He sighed. Shepard was still asleep so he decided to let her as he rested his head.

"You know she has only left when we went to get Jack. And I must say I had to drag her out of here she was very reluctant." Garrus said as he entered the med bay. Naruto smiled up at him and Garrus yawned. "You were out for quite a while buddy, four days without you on the ship I thought I was going to go insane." Naruto chuckled at this. "I even just started to bang my head on the wall when Dr Chakwas came and found me." He grinned.

"So what's Jack like?" Naruto asked.

"Hell of a biotic but has the personality of a freaking psychopath, I swear she tried to kick me out of the airlock half a dozen times." Garrus sighed as he sat down in a chair. "I've come to find you as a friend Naruto, I was the one who dragged your mangled ass up here. What happened down there?"

"I was trying to get my jutsu to work in my armor." Garrus looked at him oddly.

"It didn't work?" Naruto shook his head. "Biotics work just fine with them, why wouldn't this chikra?"

"Chakra." Naruto corrected. "I don't know, I might ask that Salarian scientist guy about it. He might know." Naruto said as he felt Shepard stir again.

"It's been a while since I have seen her that calm and relaxed, probably before Virmire." Garrus said as he looked towards the sleeping Shepard. "I'm glad your the one to make her happy Naruto." He smiled. Naruto looked to the woman to his side and smiled himself.

"Maybe we should stop playing pranks on her?" Naruto asked.

"It probably would be for the best..." Garrus started.

"Nah." They both said at the same time and grinned. Shepard stirred and her eyes fluttered open as Garrus left the room and she instantly stood up and slapped Naruto across the face.

"Not quite the reaction I was hoping for, but I think I deserved that..." Naruto trailed off as he felt her arms wrap around him.

"What the hell were you doing!" She said and sounded to Naruto as if she was trying to hold back sobs. "I...I...can't...not again, Naruto promise me you won't do anything reckless ever again!" Naruto pulled back from the hug and looked into her blue eyes.

"I promise." Naruto replied with a smile as she hugged him again and he could feel that her tears were wetting his shirt. "I would never do anything to hurt you." He whispered to her.

XXXXXXXXXX

The planet Korlus was all but dead, there were ruined buildings and that was all Naruto needed to have some fun with, he was with Garrus scouting out some area while Shepard, Miranda and Mordin were going the more direct way. It had been two days since Naruto awoke and he had gone to see Mordin almost immediately, he told him of what happened and the scientist immediately had started running test on the Chakra system and was amazed, he was even able to modify Naruto's armor so that he could use his chakra to it's full potential again. Naruto and the Scientist were best friends after that. Well Shepard came first then Garrus then Mordin. It was a long list of people before the Salarian, but at the moment he was in the top three. Garrus was amazed at how much power the chakra system gave Naruto it was like he was a biotic god or something but there was no blue light. They had come up against three heavily armed merc groups and over a dozen mindless Krogan that Okeer must have created. They had easily dealt with all of them, Naruto even wanted to try hand-to-hand combat again but Garrus reminded him of his promise to Shepard not to do anything reckless so he pouted and took them out with his sniper rifle.

As Naruto jumped over a crumbled wall Garrus followed while watching the blonde and could easily see that there was something on his mind and didn't know whether to approach the matter or wait until they were out of combat.

"Naruto?" Garrus started while the blonde looked back.

"yeah what is it?"

"What's on your mind, you seem a little bit out of it." Garrus said as he looked around making sure everything was clear.

"Nothing is wrong Garrus lets keep moving." Naruto replied as he looked ahead.

"Naruto..."

"I said lets keep moving."

"Damn it Naruto what the hell is the matter with you!" Garrus yelled at the blonde who sweat dropped when he heard a few voices over a wall.

"Well there goes being subtle." Naruto replied as he ran to the wall and Garrus thought he was going to run around it but he channeled chakra to his feet and ran up it and jumped over it and started shooting. Garrus could see the enemy's fire as it went upwards then stopped. "Garrus next time there are enemies near stay quiet would you." Naruto said as he walked around the side of the wall. Garrus sweat dropped and nodded as he followed the blonde.

"_Garrus what is going on over there?"_ Shepard asked over the radio.

"Ah nothing just a small squad is all." Garrus replied as he followed Naruto to a near by building and they both entered it and headed for the stairs. "I think we are nearing the labs to where Okeer is."

"_Good we are just about to get through some more mercs we will meet you outside the door we will wait for you."_ Shepard replied and the radio went quiet. Garrus and Naruto both made there way up the building to one of the higher up floors of the building which was open and they could see the remains of the dead mercs that Shepard's team and gone through and knew they were on the right track.

They followed the trail of dead bodies and soon found the three talking with an Asari. Rana Thanoptis was back on Virmire and let Shepard and her team back into Saren's lab and she was able to escape the explosion.

"Rana it would be best if you got out of here." Shepard started and the Asari nodded as she ran out of the room. The three watched and saw that Garrus and Naruto walked in after she had left.

"Making friends, again, I see." Garrus chuckled.

"And I thought we were the only friends she needed." Naruto pouted.

"Shut it, You two." Shepard growled as she opened the door and found a Krogan standing next to a terminal next to a Krogan inside of a tank filled with suspicious looking liquid. Naruto immediately ran over to the tank and looked inside face pressed up against the glass. He ignored what was being said and he had to remove himself from the glass when he heard an explosion and looked out the window which looked out onto more tanks and a blonde woman standing down there in what looked like blue suns armor.

"You need to stop Jedore, she will ruin everything!" The Krogan now known as Okeer said. "I will stay here...and finish what I started." He finished as he turned back to the terminal.

"Move out we have to take Jedore down and get back here. All of you with me, who knows what that crazy bitch has got down there." Garrus and Naruto just smirked as they followed the Commander down the stairs. Miranda and Mordin shrugged there shoulders and left the lab and followed after the group.

"I want them dead!" Jedore yelled as more and more Krogan piled out of there tanks and took up arms (A/N Did anyone else think why the fuck did they come out of there tanks with weapons and armor? Or was it just me?) Shepard and Garrus took some cover over the far left of the room leaving Mordin and Miranda in the center with Naruto on the right on his own.

"_Fuck this I'm doing it my way! Reckless or not! Ready, Fox?"_ Naruto screamed to himself.

"**Fuck yeah lets blow some shit up!"** The Kyuubi yelled and Naruto could just smirk as he holstered his pistol at his hip. He rushed out of his cover and he heard a yell for him to get back into cover from Shepard but didn't listen as he started to head for a Krogan who had dropped his weapon and started to charge at the blonde. The Krogan was sloppy compared to Naruto as Naruto slid on his side and kicked the Krogan's legs out from underneath him and the brute went upwards and started to fall onto the blonde only to receive a kick to his midsection from underneath him. Naruto couldn't help but Grin these Krogan were meant to be warriors from birth but they were just like the rest. The Krogan stood up and another charged at the blonde from behind who back flipped over him making both Krogan collide. There was a ear splitting yell as the first Krogan's spine snapped underneath the force from the other Krogan.

"My bad." Naruto said sheepishly as he summoned three clones and headed for the Krogan who shook his head and swung at one of the blondes only to get it kicked away and another foot into his face from another clone which sent him sprawling into the other two who had a blue sphere in his hands with a grin on his face. **"Rasengan!"** The blue sphere completely tore open the Krogan's armor and blood spurted out when Naruto removed his hand, he drew both of his pistols and ran towards the remaining three Krogan. He stepped up on a dead Krogan and launched himself into the air in a reverse back flip as he glided over them he shoot down on the Krogan's killing them instantly all with head shots he landed next to the heavy mech only to get punched by it and sent flying into a nearby wall.

"Naruto!" Shepard yelled trying to see if the blonde was ok.

"Miranda! Take down his shields!" Garrus ordered. Miranda nodded and sent an overload from her omni tool towards the mech and the shields dropped and everyone sent there rounds towards it making it fall to it's knees and blow up. Shepard jumped the cover she was behind and headed for the other side of the room to where Jedore was and found her hiding behind a crate. She snuck up behind the crate pulled out her shotgun and stood up right much to Jedore's shock and fired a round at point blank range killing her instantly and leaving her in a mess. She ran over to where Naruto collided with the wall Garrus, Miranda and Mordin were already searching through the rubble and the sight that they found was gruesome.

Naruto's left arm was broken and his bone had forced itself out of the skin and past the armor, his face had bruises which were already starting to heal and they all flinched even Mordin after they saw that the bone retracted into the skin. Naruto grunted at the pain and then stood up.

"I'm going to be sore in the morning." Naruto said as he looked over his armor. His arm was already starting to heal itself.

"Wh-what was that?" Miranda asked a bit shocked.

"_Shepard you need to get back to the lab the alarms have gone off."_ EDI's voice came over the radio. Shepard looked to her team and they all nodded and headed for the lab, just to see Okeer slump to the ground from his terminal.

"If I knew anything about the collectors I would tell you but I do not, take this grunt..." Where Okeers last words from the terminal. Shepard looked into the tank looking at the Krogan.

"Shepard we have no idea what this Krogan is like he may not even be stable." Miranda said.

"Get him on board and we will see what its all about." Garrus said looking at Naruto's arm.

"Joker we need a pick up and he's a big one."

"Bow chicka bow wow." Naruto said and was slapped up the back of the head from Shepard.

"Naruto...THAT WAS AWESOME TIMING!" Garrus shouted making Naruto grin. In the seal, the fox was rolling.

"Oh yeah." Naruto laughed as he leans back against a bench his hands behind his head.

"I thought I told you not to be reckless Naruto." Shepard said as she sat down next to him.

"I'm just so use to hand to hand combat and as you can see I heal very quickly." He chuckled.

"Yep, hand to hand combat is the old school way to kill your enemies. Killing a man with your bare hands says 'We're all equals as men except I'm slightly more equal because I'm still alive and your dead.' Of course dropping a nuke on them from fifty thousand feet is totally acceptable. I mean let's face it, there's just not enough time in this galaxy to show everybody the courtesy of a good strangling" Garrus firmly stated and all Shepard and Naruto could do was laugh while Mordin and Miranda sweat dropped.

XXXXXXXXXX

"_Shepard I would not recommend awakening the Krogan at this time."_ EDI said over the radio.

"This is my ship now give me the controls." Shepard ordered.

"_The controls are yours along with the consequences."_ Shepard opened the tank and the suspicious liquid drained out of it. The hatch popped open the the Krogan fell forwards. He looked around with his blue slitted eyes and saw Shepard and immediately rushed her and held her up by the throat.

"Human. Female. Before I kill you I need a name." The Krogan said he felt a tap on his shoulder and he looked to his left and saw Naruto with a shit eating grin on his face as he punched the Krogan square in the face. The Krogan stumbled backwards and held his hand up to his face. "I like you, but you are not human."

"You can tell that?" Naruto asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"You do not smell like a human. I still need a name."

"Well Okeer's last word were along the line's of Grunt."

"I like it, who is your female subordinate?" This caused a tick to form on Shepard's head and Naruto to chuckle.

"I am Commander Shepard and Naruto is my subordinate."

"I see... Before we test our skills as warrior's where am I?"

"You want to fight?" Shepard asked.

"I was bred to fight. I have the minds of the most feared Krogan Warlords. I crave the feeling." Naruto patted him on the shoulder.

"I feel the same, but Shepard here gets her enemies from some shop called 'galaxy killers 'R us'. I say that you help us against the collectors and you get your fill of battle."

"I will help you Shepard and blonde." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"My names Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. If you want to spar later let me know." He said with a foxy grin and left letting Shepard talk with the Krogan.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stood looking at the Galaxy map and not noticing Shepard come out of the elevator behind him. She strolled up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"If your going to be reckless can you let me know before hand so I know that shit is going to go down?" She asked as she nuzzled her head into his shoulders. He relaxed and sighed.

"Of course, just if things get to hectic I want you to get out of there, I don't want to lose you." He said as he placed a hand on one of her arms that was around him. He could slightly feel her nod in agreement.

"_Ahh...Commander there is a request from the illusive man, I'll patch it through to the meeting room."_ Joker said. Naruto looked up down to where Joker was sitting and could see that he had a light smirk on his face. Naruto growled and Joker immediately turned around and looked out a window.

"Duty call's I'll see you later." Naruto nodded and continued to look at the Galaxy map. He looked over his shoulder as Shepard walked into the army to go into the meeting room and smirked, he waited a minute before following her and opened the meeting room door and saw Shepard standing the the center of the room where the table usually was and an orange grid pattern surrounded her. "What is she doing on Horizon?" Shepard asked. Naruto looked at the grid as Shepard had yet to notice him and stuck his head in and could see what looked to be a dark room with a few orange computer panels a large blue and red sun behind him. There was a man sitting in a chair and looked like he had synthetic eyes like Sasuke but these eyes were blue and more noticeable.

"Shepard who is that?" The man in the chair asked. Shepard turned around and looked at Naruto and he just gave a sheepish grin.

"This is one of my crew and has saved our asses a number of times." Shepard replied.

"So your the illusive man, what's with all the secrecy seriously. I once knew a guy who liked to keep a little Uchiha in his basement and let me tell you that was just wrong, you remind me of that guy." Naruto smirked, Shepard had to fight down a laugh t the elusive man's reaction as he was speechless. "Well it was nice meeting you, hope I never have to look at that shitty looking fake smile that you are now sporting. Bye now." Naruto made a mock bow and left the grid and headed for his quarters. Shepard finished talking with the Illusive man and headed straight for the galaxy map and plotted a course for Horizon, she wanted to see Ashley it had been two long years without her friend.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Naruto along with Garrus and Shepard sat in the shuttle heading for Horizon, Naruto could see that Shepard was nervous Garrus knew why as he was somewhat nervous himself. They were both nervous because Ashley Williams was down here somewhere and the Collectors were making there move on the planet and were already down doing whatever they do to the colonists. Shepard looked towards Naruto and gave him a small smile before the shuttle landed on the ground.

"Alright we are here to make sure these bastards never do anything like this again." Shepard said and the two with her nodded. "Mordin, are you sure your countermeasure will be enough?" She spoke into her radio.

"_Not sure. Maybe. Maybe not, need field tests. Cannot be completely sure until you come back, if you come back. Hope it works."_ Mordin's voice came back.

"Did he just say it might not work?" Garrus asked.

"No... he said it might work there is a difference." Shepard replied with a nervous laugh. Naruto and Garrus sweat dropped. "So who's going out first?" She said and Garrus and Naruto looked at each other then back at her and grinned. The door opened and Shepard was kicked out of the shuttle.

"Does it work Shepard?" Garrus asked from inside the safety confines of the shuttle.

"_Jerks_." She thought as she stood up. "yeah. it work's. Now, lets go and save this colony." Naruto and Garrus jumped out of the shuttle and pulled out there respective weapons, Garrus with an assault rifle and Naruto one of his pistols. Shepard took the lead and led them around a corner of a few buildings before an area came into view that looked like a picnic area with what looked like giant bug like creatures with floating pods that looked like cocoons.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered and the collector looked up and dropped what they were doing and shot at the group. They took cover and returned fire and they were easily dealt with.

"The hell happened here?" Naruto asked. "It looks as if they were here one minute and gone the next."

"_**I've got a bad feeling about this, Kid.**_"

"_Join the club, Fox_."

"It's the same as it was back on Freedom's Progress." Shepard replied. "Be on your guard there could be more." After she finished talking there was a buzzing sound and more collectors came down from the sky with what looked like wings and they opened fire while they were in the air making the three man team separate in all directions.

Three went after Garrus and just as he jumped over a small wall a round of bullets unloaded into the cover.

"That was close." He rose from where he was crouched and opened fire on the collectors taking two of them out. He crouched down again and reloaded and glanced around the corner to see the Collector out of cover he took his chance and rose and fired a volley of rounds and the Collectors fell dead.

Shepard was in the same predicament but her collectors were smarter, while one was shooting another would be getting ready so that when the first finished he could instantly start while the third was getting closer. Shepard noticed that a small mirror had been smashed in the room that she was in and quickly picked up a piece and used it to glance around the corner, to her shock the Collector that was moving forward was just three feet away. She had to finish him off quickly. The Collector rounded the corner of the room and was met with the fist of Shepard to the face he reeled back and was shot at point blank range in the gut. Shepard pulled out her assault rifle and ran out with her shields at maximum power. She fired a volley making the collectors take cover and she took cover herself. She stood up again and fired another few rounds killing another Collector.

"Two down one to go." She sighed as she reloaded again. There was more rounds being shot towards her and when it finished and she was sure that the Collector was reloading she rushed forwards and once she got near him pistol whipped the Collector in the face making it collapse and fall backwards. Shepard stood over the downed Collector and raised her gun to his face. "Die." And she fired a round killing the collector. As she looked around she could hear the laughing of Naruto.

Naruto had three on his trail as well. He had hid behind a crate for all of two seconds before he shot the weapons out of the Collectors hands and dropped his own. He cracked his knuckles and made a gesturing motion with his hands as he fell into a fighting stance. The three rushed him all at once, the Collectors never had a way of hand to hand fighting but they thought that they could overpower the blonde with sheer numbers they were not expecting him to be so good. The first that came in Naruto's range received three well balanced punches to the face one came up from behind him and received a backwards kick to the chest sending it stumbling backwards. The third was in the air and came down him with a leg outstretched. Naruto rolled out of the way and the collector that he had punched managed to roll out of the way to and the collector in the air fell to the ground hitting nothing.

The first Collector ran at Naruto again and managed to land a punched which made Naruto laugh. Naruto unleashed everything that he had on the Collector in punches and kicks the collector was sent back into crates which toppled down on him. The second Collector that was kicked ran at Naruto again only to get grabbed by it's neck and it was snapped with a quick flick of Naruto's wrist. The Third collector started to back up and Naruto could just smile evilly at it.

"_**Tag Out, Naruto. Let me have this one**_."

"_Go for it, Kurama_."

The collector's wings came out and it tried to fly away but was unable to get very far from the roof of one of the buildings as Naruto had gone down on all fours and jumped from building to building and managed to get higher then the Collector and punched it down to the ground. Naruto came soaring out of the sky after the collector his eyes red and slitted. He landed on the Collector which made a large crater around them and threw punches into his face over and over smashing the collectors head into the ground with each punch, he grabbed both of the collectors arms and folded them in front and managed to bring both out of there sockets as he pulled them further across each other.

"Naruto that's enough!" Shepard called out to the blonde. The blonde looked over his shoulder at Shepard and she had to gasp, his eyes had turned red and were slitted, his whisker marks were more defined and feral looking and his canines had grown in length. His eyes went back to there normal blue and his facial features went back to normal.

"Sorry Commander, I'll tell you about it later." Naruto said as he stood up and walked out of the crater he was in and picked up his pistol that he had thrown to the ground.

"As long as your all right Naruto." Shepard smiled at him. She didn't want to be like the villagers and fear him, he was on her team, she had accepted his help he was not going to be treated like when he was back in his village. Also she felt something else other then friendship for the blonde and had since she had first really got to know him and she didn't want to drive him away.

"Commander we should move up." Garrus said from behind her looking around the now destroyed picnic area. "Damn Naruto you know how to pack a punch." Garrus smiled at the blonde.

"I learned from the best. That reminds me Shepard do you think I could talk with you once we get back to the Normandy?" Naruto asked. Shepard looked at him and gave him a smile and nodded her head.

"Let's move out." They nodded and fell in behind Shepard. They rounded several buildings and went through a couple before they found dragon's teeth.

"What are these things?" Naruto asked.

"Dragon's teeth that means there are husks around stay on your guard." Garrus told him. He nodded his head and raised his pistol up. There was a loud screeching sound before a blue like humanoid creature came around the corner.

"Is that one?" Naruto asked and Shepard nodded her head in agreement. "Oi Garrus throw me a thermal clip would ya. I'm out." Garrus nodded and tossed Naruto a thermal clip which went straight over his head.

The husk ran at Naruto and it started to freak him out how he ran. Naruto stepped back a few steps before realizing he had a weapon in his hand. He pulled the trigger and nothing happened and remembered the thermal clip he asked from Garrus. He went to reach for his other pistol but the husk was to close so he settled on throwing the pistol at the head of the husk which made it rear it's head back, when it looked back at Naruto it got a punch to the face which sent it flying.

"FUCK what the hell is that thing made out of metal! I think I broke a bone in my hand!" Naruto yelled at the two who just laughed at him. "Garrus I swear to god that was the worst throw, ever. Of all time."

"Not my fault... someone put the sun in my eyes..." Garrus argued.

"These husks are different from the ones on Eden Prime. More advanced."

"Didn't the geth get the Dragon Teeth from Sovereign, that means the illusive man was right the Reapers are behind this." Garrus said.

"Let's keep moving we need to find where the other colonists are we need to save as many as we can." Shepard replied and they continued on. They fought large numbers of collectors and more husks. They found a large door that must lead them to where an underground bunker must be and Garrus was able to unlock the door with his omni tool while Naruto and Shepard held of some more collectors, when the doors slid open they rushed in and the doors slid shut. Shepard and Naruto looked around the room while Garrus made sure the door was locked. There was a light noise of someone's feet shuffling and they both raised there weapons and pointed at where the sound had originated from.

"We know your there come out." Shepard ordered and a man came out.

"I'm unarmed I'm just a mechanic." He replied.

"Who are you?" Shepard asked.

"My name is Delan. i'm just a mechanic... well was a mechanic before these things came and took everyone. They all got taken. It's all the alliance's fault if they hadn't sent that soldier here to set up those guns we would have been fine."

"You have guns here? Why not use them on the ship?"

"They haven't been operational. Never could get the targeting systems to work right." Delan responded.

"We have to get those guns online it may be our only shot Commander," Garrus noted, to which,Shepard nodded and headed for the other door. They ran out the door and were bombarded with even more enemies and less cover it was hectic for a while especially the giant looking husks that could disable your shields but they made it through. There were doors on the other side which lead to the star port to which they needed to go. Garrus noted that there were no more colonists frozen and quickly unlocked the star port door, there were two more large husks that they took down and they headed for the transmitter and EDI talked to them over the radio.

"_Shepard please connect me to the guns."_ EDI said and Shepard did what the AI asked. _"The guns need time to charge hold off the enemies so that there are no interruptions."_

"Anything else?" Shepard asked.

"_There is a wave of enemies coming towards you, you should prepare."_

"Thanks, Mom. You heard the computer take cover." Naruto and Garrus nodded and both took out there sniper rifles. The collectors came wave after wave and attacked at full force but the three man squad dealt with everything that they could throw at them. The last collector fell dead and Naruto yawned.

"Man this is getting boring." He said. There was a loud boom sound as something hit where Naruto had been currently standing and just a few meters away from that came down a huge machine looking creature.

"NARUTO!" Shepard screamed as she had watched as the explosion had engulfed him. "You bastard!" She yelled but was in shock as she saw a mop of blonde hair on top of the creature.

"I have to give it to em Shepard that was a close one." He smirked. There were more explosions as the machine fired off more missiles blowing up everything around it. "Guess I should take this monstrosity down." Naruto said to himself. He summoned a clone but even before he could start on the rasengan he was thrown off of the machine and into a concrete wall. "That fucking hurt." He grunted.

"Naruto get up you lazy ass bastard we need to take that thing down!" Garrus shouted at him with a grin on his face.

"yeah alright let's do this shit," he then thought, "_Ready, Kurama?_"

"_**You know it**_."

"What's the plan?" Garrus asked.

"Well you see that big ass thing that is trying to kill us?" Naruto asked sarcastically as he wiped some blood from his lip. "I'm going to kill it with this." He finished as he held up the lead pipe.

"But that's blunt." Garrus told him.

"No shit that's why you should just watch." His body turned a golden yellow and had several markings all over. He started channeling wind chakra into the pipe, and slashed downward, cutting straight through a concrete block.

"I see your point. I'll cover you along with Shepard." Naruto nodded and jumped over the cover and once again ran at the machine. He jumped up again and when the machine reared back to swing at him again he jumped onto the leg and cut it off leaving it with three legs. The machine stumbled before it could balance itself on three legs, Naruto jumped up again and as he came down he had to dodge his squad's bullets as they were firing at the machine he let loose with a large ball of a black and red chakra. "**Biijudama!**" The machine exploded just as he landed and he grinned.

"Awesome I'm like a fucking Jedi." Naruto laughed as he dropped the lead pipe.

"You let him watch Star Wars?" Shepard asked.

"Every male needs to have seen Star Wars at least once." Garrus told her and Shepard just shook her head. The guns continued firing at the collector ship until it lifted off, they all had to brace themselves as the force from the thrusters almost blew them off there feet.

"No no no! Half the colonies in there!" Delan yelled as he came out from his hiding spot. "You have to save them!"

"Look at the size of that thing, now look at my pistol and back to the ship and back to the pistol who the fuck wants to chance that even I'm not that stupid." Naruto told him.

"You sure?" Garrus asked and received a Charlie Horse. "Fuck that hurt." He said as he rubbed the spot where he was hit.

"Commander we should probably get the results from EDI." Garrus started.

"yeah Shepard let the computer do the work for once." Naruto continued.

"Commander Shepard, I've heard of you you were there at the citadel during the invasion." Delan said.

"Commander Jane Shepard, hero of the citadel, savior of the council, you should be in awe Delan your in the presence of a god." Came a familiar female voice. Ashley walked out from around a corner in her Phoenix armor which was pink and white.

"Out of all the good people we lost, you had to get left behind. I'm sick of the Alliance you all can go to hell."

"Nice Guy." Naruto grinned. "So you must be the Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams I've heard so much about?" Ashley raised an eyebrow to the blonde.

"_Who is this guy?"_ Ashley thought. "yeah what's it to you Blondie?"

"Good one Ash." Garrus laughed as he wrote something down in a small book. "That will come in handy later on." Garrus smirked before the book was snatched away from him and read through it all quickly.

"What the hell Garrus! All this is on me you back Stabbing Ass monkey!" Naruto yelled at the Turian.

"That's for when you left me to deal with Shepard on my own!" Garrus yelled back.

"It was your idea to cut her pants so her ass stood out I just cut where you told me too!" Naruto yelled back.

"What!" Ashley yelled. "Shepard they can't be serious?" Ashley looked to Shepard and could see she was trying to contain her anger. "Oh my god, they are serious!" She continued to yell.

"Yeah they're serious I have yet to get them back for that little prank or any of the other ones that they have pulled on me, it was hard when Naruto was doing it but both of them its like hell on the Normandy." She sighed. Shepard walked over to Ashley leaving the arguing Turian and Blonde alone and hugged her friend.

"Where have you been Shepard?" Ash asked as she pulled back from the hug.

"Mostly on an operating table. Cerberus patched me back together." Ashley took a step back.

"Your with Cerberus now?" Shepard shook her head.

"I'm not with Cerberus Ash, they are the only one's doing anything about the Reapers as soon as we don't need their funding for our operations, we're taking them out. If anything those bastards are dead to me after what the did to Admiral Kahoku."

"Why would you turn your back on the alliance? On your friends?"

"The Alliance turned there back on me Ash, I was out for two years I didn't even know that I was with Cerberus until a couple of weeks ago. I could use a soldier like you back on the Normandy to help keep Cerberus off my back."

"yeah Ash come with us we could always use an extra hand when we end up taking Cerberus down with us." Garrus said coming over from the argument with Naruto.

"I don't know who these Cerberus people are but i'm thinking that if we all team up we could infiltrate the Cerberus head quarters, plant a few hundred maybe a thousand charges, depending on how psychotic were feeling that day, and blow it sky high." Naruto said as he came up behind her and placed his arm around her shoulder making her blush. "So what do ya say, we can even team up on Shepard." He whispered into her ear loud enough for Shepard to here.

"If anything she is on my side!" Shepard yelled at him.

"I can't just turn my back on the alliance." Ashley said.

"Well what if I say that I need your help on a mission. after all I'm still a spectre, and since Anderson is a council member, and has some pull in the Alliance we might be able to help you out with that." Shepard smiled.

"Alright, but i'm returning to the Alliance as soon as the collectors are dealt with."

"Orders are orders." Naruto sighed. "I hate orders."

"Naruto call Joker on the radio." Shepard ordered.

"Garrus call Joker on the Radio." Naruto ordered with a sigh.

"Shepard call Joker on the Radio." Garrus ordered with a grin.

"Well looks like the chain of command is nothing important on the Normandy now is it Commander?" Ashley laughed.

"Joker we need a pick up." Shepard grumbled over the radio.

"_Are you alright Commander?"_ Joker asked.

"Of course, I am so happy I wanna fucking puke." She continued to grumble Naruto and Garrus just laughed at her. The shuttle arrived and they all boarded and headed back to the Normandy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ashley and Shepard along with Garrus and Naruto were in the briefing room aboard the Normandy when Miranda and Jacob walked into the room. The room fell silent as they walked in. Ashley was glaring at the two while Shepard was trying her best to keep them apart as far as possible.

"We have our new dossiers Commander?" Miranda asked.

"yeah the illusive man just sent them over, were going to get Tali." Garrus smiled at that.

"It's like were getting our old team back Commander." He smirked.

"Who's Tali?" Naruto asked making everyone in the room look towards the blonde that was sitting on the ground with his back up against the wall with his eyes closed still in his armor unlike the rest who had already changed into there clothing.

"A Quarian." Shepard replied.

"Oh you mean those guys in the full body suits?" Shepard nodded her head as he looked at her with one eye opened. "How do they live like that, I would be trying to get my immune system back up."

"I think that it's hard for them to do Naruto." Garrus told him as he sat down next to him with a deck of cards and shuffling them. "Up for a game?"

"Maybe Later, Garrus. That mission took it out of me. Breaking a few bones does that to you." He smiled as he walked out of the room much to every ones shock.

"I hear you served with the alliance Gunnery Chief." Jacob said.

"I still serve the Alliance." She replied harshly. "Don't even think about coming near me, my position on this ship or even think about crossing my path or I will beat the crap out of you."

"Miss Williams, you should be very grateful that your even on this ship." Miranda said. "I mean with what your grandfather did in the first contact war..." She trailed off. Shepard winced at that. Ashley smiled at Miranda and walked forward. Garrus stood up and tried to reach for her arms but it was too late, she had punched Miranda right in the face sending her straight to the floor, blood coming out of her nose and lip, she straddled her waist and continued punching the Cerberus officers face. Jacob and Garrus both had to pull her off while she tried to struggle out of there grip. "Fucking bitch!" Miranda cursed.

"Miranda stand down! You deserved worse then that!" Shepard yelled at her. "Both of you are not to come near each other unless there are others near or if I request it! If it is only Jack you are to both walk away as she would probably join the fight." Shepard finished. "Now I have to go see Naruto about something he wants to talk to me about, back to your stations and if I so much as hear that you glanced in the others directions im kicking you both out the airlock with no helmets and see how you like it!" She yelled as she walked out the room with Garrus and followed by Ashley who went up to see Joker for some reminiscence. Garrus and Shepard headed for the elevator and once inside and the doors closed Garrus broke down in laughter and Shepard chuckled. "God that was good, a pity that I had to scold Ash to but it had to be done."

"What do you think Naruto wants to talk to you about?" Garrus asked.

"I have no idea." She replied and he nodded. The doors to the elevator opened Garrus went back to his station and Shepard went to the starboard observation deck. She opened the door and found that it was dark the window was open and she could hear the slight sound of Naruto snoring. She walked over to where Naruto was asleep on the couch and lifted his arm up and crawled in next to him and sighed. It felt good to be in someone's arms again for her it had been too long. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her tight against him and she smiled as she fell asleep.

Naruto awoke to see Shepard in his arms and he immediately thought. _"I didn't do it!"_ He could see that she had made her way down here after the briefing and probably wanted to speak with him and decided to climb into his arms. _"What am I going to do, I made a promise to go back to Konoha but I think I have strong feelings for Shepard What the hell is going on here!" _Shepard began to stir and turned to face him and opened her eyes.

"Morning Naruto." She said sleepily.

"Morning Jane, how was your sleep?" He asked with a shit eating grin. Shepard opened her eyes wide in shock as she realized at where she was and who's arms were wrapped around her.

"Naruto...I can explain." She started.

"No need to, it's alr-" He was cut off as the door opened wide and Garrus walked in. He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the two on the couch.

"Ill come back later then." He smirked as he left.

"Damn straight you will! And knock next time!" Naruto yelled after him. "Shepard not that i'm complaining or anything but why did you come down here last night?"

"I was going to see what you wanted to talk with me about, seeing as we are back on the Normandy and all. When I came down here you were asleep on the couch so I decided that I would tell you first thing when you woke up." She said as she stood up from his embrace.

"Right I was going to ask you if I could return home for a few days."

"May I ask what for?" She asked a little shocked that he wanted to go back to the village.

"Four years ago, my teacher and godfather died. Every year I go back to the village and pay my respects on the day of his death." Shepard looked at him and could see that he didn't want to miss it.

"Naruto, I told you once, at the little party that we were at before we left, that if you needed anything from me, I would do anything in my power to help you get it done. After we pick up Tali we will head straight back to your planet. It will be like temporary leave for the whole crew for a few days before we start up again. I think we have all earned it." She smiled at him and was shocked when he embraced her again in a hug this time.

"Thank you." Was all he said and she could only smile.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was walking down around engineering deck as Shepard had taken Ashley and Garrus down to get Tali. He had been talking with Zaeed for the last hour or so discussing war stories. They both had plenty to share with each other and Zaeed was shocked that he was only twenty one and started at twelve. He went to go see Grunt about a spar but all the Krogan said was that he was busy and should come back later. He had spoken with Gabby and Ken about the engine and decided that it was too complicated for him and bid them fare well. That was what led him to go down further as he had heard cursing from below and decided to check it out.

"Who the fuck are you!" Jack ordered.

"You kiss you Mother with that mouth?" Naruto smirked. Jack went to punch him but he dodged it. "Let me guess your Jack, the psycho that we keep down here to turn away pirates and nosy neighbors." She swung at him again and her fist connected with a steel beam.

"Fuck!" She yelled.

"You're not my type."

"Like I give a fuck, why don't you go back up stars and suck up to the Cerberus Cheerleader and who ever else the fuck is up there." She finished as she rubbed her fist.

"Why would I want to go up there when there is such pleasant company down here?" He asked sarcastically.

"What the fuck do you want?"

"Who said I wanted anything I heard cursing from the upper level and came down to check it out only to be trying not to be hit by a psychopath." He smirked at her again. "Aren't you cold seriously that is not a lot of clothing at all?" He asked.

"Fuck off would you I don't need some stupid brat coming down here and telling me what to do!" She growled.

"For one I don't give the orders Shepard does and I don't like orders so why would I give something I don't want to someone who I can't even give them to hmm?"

"Huh? Stop fucking with my head you damn brat!" She yelled and threw a chair at him only for him to duck under it.

"Maybe I should come down here more often I could get dodging practice in quite easily." He smirked only for Jack to pull out her Pistol. "All right im going im going no need to get all 'lets shoot the guy who's pissing me off'." He smiled as he walked up the star way. "Ill be back later." **BANG** There was the sound of a gun being shot and then a bullet hitting metal and he sweat dropped. _"That could have gone better."_

"_**No shit Sherlock.**__"_

Naruto headed for the elevator and went to the command deck and went to talk to Joker who once again was fighting with EDI. He sighed as he sat down next to Joker's leather chair and looked out the window into space.

"What brings you up here to my humble abode?" Joker asked.

"Trying to be shot by Jack isn't the best of things to do." He smirked.

"She is nuttier than a payday bar. What does the Commander pick everyone out of the same store or something?" He joked.

"Nah she probably goes down to every planet and hangs up signs saying 'Crazy people wanted for suicide mission please call this number.'" Naruto laughed.

"_Naruto."_ Miranda's voice came over the radio.

"yeah what's up?" Naruto asked.

"_Would you mind coming down to my office I would like to speak with you about something."_ Miranda asked.

"yeah sure i'm on my way." Naruto stood up and headed back to the elevator with a sigh he was getting sick and tired of walking around this cramped ship over and over again and the elevator moved so god damn slow! He made his way into Miranda's office and sat down in one of the chairs that were quite comfortable. "What's up?" He asked. Her face had already been healed by Dr Chakwas.

"How are you adjusting to the ship?" Miranda asked

"Is this like a check up or something?" He asked and she nodded. "I guess im doing fine, I could use a bed tho, sleeping on those couches leaves me with a saw back sometimes."

"And your relationship with the crew members?"

"Pretty well, Jack shot at me just over twenty minutes ago but I kind of asked for that." He smirked. "Other then that I get along well with everyone pretty much."

"Any injuries that you have sustained recently?" He shook his head. "Now what should we do about this bed situation?" She asked.

"Well you have a double." He grinned and she just smiled back at him.

"I'm not Sharing, Naruto." She said, "But, I could put in a requisition order for you."

"Thanks, Miranda."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The squad had just returned from the planet below with Tali Zorah nar Rayya the Quarian who had been there at the very end with Shepard and Garrus at the citadel. She had matured in the last two years a lot and was only twenty years of age. When Shepard and her group had first shown up she was utterly shocked, she had no idea they were coming to recruit her but she was happy that they did, she missed her old friends aboard the Normandy even if she had to work along side Cerberus she was not going to let Shepard down. They walked down to the briefing room together Shepard and Ashley were laughing at Garrus who had started to talk with Joker but was dragged down the corridor by Tali who wanted to catch up with everybody together. The door to the briefing room opened and inside was Jacob and Miranda, Ashley glared at both of them before going over to the other side of the table.

"Welcome Tali." Jacob greeted.

"If you wouldn't mind I would like to catch up with my friends." Tali replied. Jacob nodded and left the briefing room along with Miranda. "Shepard I thought that even you wouldn't work with Cerberus I even went as far as believing that you were trying to infiltrate them and if that's the case ill hand you a grenade." Tali continued.

"Don't worry they will get what's coming to them." Ashley told the Quarian with a smirk.

"What were you doing down there Tali?" Garrus asked.

"I was researching the planet's stars they have aged to much in to short a time that's why the heat was intense down there. That was one of the worlds that my people colonized when we were out of our suits."

"So you were trying to figure out how your people could re-colonize a world then?" Shepard asked and Tali nodded.

"It would take generations for the Quarian's to breath oxygen without a mask but yes that is what we were trying to do." She replied.

"_Ah Commander you may want to go see what Naruto and Grunt are up to. They're having a friendly spar down in the engineering room and it's getting a little bit out of control."_Joker's voice came over the radio.

"You mean Naruto is going hand to hand with a Krogan?" Ashley asked.

"yeah he likes to test himself." Shepard replied, Tali and Ashley looked to there commander with shock how could anyone go up against a Krogan hand to hand.

XXXXXXXXXX

Half an hour earlier before the arrival of Tali and after Naruto had finished speaking with Miranda he went back down to the engineering deck, he had contemplated on whether to go annoy Jack again but decided that getting shot wasn't on his list of things to do today. So he went to go and get a spar out of Grunt.

"Grunt, ol' buddy ol' pal how's things?" He asked as he walked into the Krogan's spot on the ship. "You up for a spar now or do I need to come back later?"

"Now is fine meet me in the training room in fifteen minutes and get armored up." Naruto nodded to the Krogan and left the room. Fifteen minutes later the two arrived in the training room Naruto with a big grin on his face and Grunt as stoic as usual but he was eager for a good fight you could easily tell. "So Naruto shall we use weapons or just hand to hand?"

"Hand to hand and blades only." Naruto replied as he started to stretch.

"Do you have your own blade?"

"Ah no can I borrow one?" He asked as he chuckled while rubbing the back of his head. He caught the blade that Grunt had tossed him and looked it over. It was a rather simple blade different from the kunai back home it was one sided and had groves near the red hilt. He placed it on his armor where there was a spot for a knife and got into a battle ready stance.

"You ready?" Grunt asked. Naruto looked around the room and stood up straight again.

"Hang on a sec ok." Grunt nodded. "Joker! We need some music down here!" He called with a smile on his face.

"_Ill see what I can do Naruto."_ Joker said back over the radio.

"Alright now I'm ready." He grinned. Grunt charged forward with his head down like most Krogan did but Naruto was able to predict this as he had faced several Krogan before. He jumped up and placed both hands on Grunt's head and flipped over or was meant to but Grunt had grabbed both of his legs and started to swing him around by his feet. He was tossed half way across the room before he was able to get his head straight and was able to land on his feet and rolled out of the way just as Grunt passed by him in a charge.

Naruto turned to face Grunt but was kicked in the chest and sent backwards and grunt charged at him again. Naruto pulled out his knife and swiped at him but Grunt jumped backwards out of the way and delivered a punch to the blonde's face. His face turned to the side and he spit out some blood as he did so. Naruto kicked out Grunt's legs with incredible speed to fast for the Krogan before he knew it he was sailing through the air after a forceful five punches from the blonde. Grunt landed on his side and rolled out of the way before Naruto's leg landed where his head would have been. He stood up and they stood facing each other both with grins on there faces and blood coming out of there mouths. Grunt pulled out his Knife and Naruto did the same and both charged at each other, they swiped at each other aiming for the most dangerous parts of the body which would kill in seconds but were unable to land a hit on each other.

Grunt made a downward arc and Naruto parred it with his own blade and he lost grip and they both went flying to the floor. He delivered a punch to the Krogan's head and Grunt stumbled backwards before he grinned and punched out at Naruto who ducked under the punch and delivered another set of punches to the Krogan's chin but Grunt didn't budge. Grunt looked down to the blonde and head butted him before grabbing his shoulders and kneeing him in the gut several times before kneeing him in the head making him fly back. Grunt didn't see the change on Naruto's features.

"He is holding his own pretty well." Ashley said from the viewpoint of the training room which looked down onto the room.

"I'm surprised that he has even come this far." Tali said with a little excitement in her voice.

"He has given the same treatment to other Krogan, but Grunt is a genetic super soldier that's why he is having a hard time." Shepard replied as she watched the fight not noticing Naruto's changes in the fight and his actions which became more brutal.

"He is really something Shepard." Garrus said as he walked up behind the group. He looked over the railing and looked down to the two fighting and saw that Naruto get kneed in the head. "Do you think he can win against Grunt?"

"He took down the massive machine back on Horizon he took down a gunship single handedly I think he can take on Grunt." Shepard smirked back at him. Garrus nodded and looked back down to the fight going on.

Grunt was smirking at the blonde who was on the floor face down. His grin faded when Naruto seemingly floated back to his feat his head was hung down in front of him his hair was covering his eyes making them covered in darkness. His back was turned to the Krogan. Grunt could see him flexing his fingers in and out of making a fist.

"**Naruto, tag out?" **A voice said from Naruto in a deep voice as he lifted his head up and it fell to the side revealing his red slitted eyes.

"_Just for a few seconds, Fox. We can't kill Grunt. He's an ally._"

****_"What is happening?"_ Grunt thought to himself. But was unable to think any more as Naruto charged at him with incredible speed and attacked the Krogan with massive amounts of force. Grunt was back handed by the blonde and he went flying through the training room but to his shock Naruto was waiting for him where he was headed and punched down on his gut sending the Krogan to the floor. Naruto lifted the Krogan up by the neck of his armor with one hand showing how strong the blonde was and started to punch him in the face. Grunt tried to fight back but his arms were just swatted away from the blonde. The door slid open and the room filled with the audience that was watching from above.

"_Tag back out, Kurama_."

"OK_**, Kid**_."

"Naruto!" Shepard yelled. Naruto looked over to the red head and her eyes opened wide as she saw the changes once again. "Calm down Naruto." She ordered. Grunt fell to the floor with a thud and Naruto returned to normal. He crouched down next to Grunt.

"You OK Grunt?" He asked.

"If... you ever need anything... Naruto. I would happily follow you... into any danger." Grunt said just before he passed out.

"Let's get him up to Dr Chakwas, Naruto." Garrus said as he came and helped Naruto lift the Krogan and haul him out the door of the training room. Tali watched as the two left and turned back to Shepard and Ashley.

"I think he's cute." She said with excitement still in her voice. Shepard tried to continue smiling but was having a hard time at it and Ashley saw this and laughed at the red head.

"Naruto we need to talk about a few things." Shepard said as she walked into his room only to find him asleep on one of his couches. "I guess it can wait then." She smiled as she walked out of the room and headed up to the bridge to see Joker. She left the elevator and bumped into Kelley as she walked past.

"Good Evening Commander I hear that Naruto was able to take down Grunt in a one on one spar." She smiled.

"yeah he seems to have worked himself out as he is asleep at the moment." Shepard replied.

"Not having a sleep over again Shepard?" Kelley asked with a slight grin. Shepard's eyes flew open after hearing that and she looked dead at the Cerberus officer. "I was the one who sent Garrus down, I knew that he wouldn't react like some others would." She smiled.

"It would seem appropriate to give him a morning to wake up by himself don't you think?" Kelley nodded.

"But he has been complaining that he doesn't have a bed maybe you could share yours with him Commander I mean if you two have slept side by side before what would the difference really be? I should get going Commander I have duties to attend to." Shepard nodded and headed up towards Joker.

"Good evening Commander did you get me some pictures of what Naruto did to Grunt?" Joker asked with a grin.

"Sorry Joker didn't have my camera on me." She smirked. "You could always hobble down to the infirmary and see the damage yourself."

"And break a hip maybe next time." He replied.

"How are we doing?"

"It's great to have members of the old team back on board, EDI is still pestering me over some random crap and I still don't trust the Illusive man. But hey we don't all get what we want do we." He smiled. "We're heading for Naruto's home world?" Shepard nodded.

"We are staying there for a few days, then we will head to Ilium to get Thane and Samara."

"An Assassin and a Justicar, couldn't you collect coins or something." He smirked and she waved over her shoulder as she headed back to her quarters. Before she got to the elevator she got a devilish grin on her face and went back down to the crew deck. Ashley was walking by the Elevator when it opened up to reveal a grinning Shepard.

"What are you up to Commander." She asked.

"You. Me. Kitchen. Now." Was all she got as a reply as Shepard grabbed a hold of her and pulled her into the kitchen.

"What's this all about?" Ashley asked again.

"Prank time, now get me a pair of scissors." She smirked.

Naruto awoke with pain in his arms and in his legs from where he was hit during the sparring session. He looked around the room and headed for where he had stored his scroll and looked through it. He pulled out a kunai and looked it over, he would have to get some more if he kept using them. He smiled as he remembered he would be able to see some of his friends again soon. He walked to the door and headed out and went to the kitchen. He sat down at the counter and could see that Rupert was smiling.

"Why so cheerful?" Naruto asked. Rupert just pointed behind him and he could see that there were a few women behind him with deep blushes and when he looked over his shoulder her could have sworn that they looked away. "What's going on?" Rupert laughed a little.

"Boy you got it bad, you and Garrus have got it coming you know that." He smiled.

"Huh?" He looked around again and looked down and most of his pants were shredded but you could make out some lettering. _WAR_ "Son of a bitch!" he cursed. Rupert laughed and went back to work and Naruto ran back to his room to get a new pair of pants.

Shepard and Ashley were laughing while Garrus came down.

"What's so funny?" He asked the two.

"GARRUS!" Naruto yelled out. "Your consulting with the enemy!" He continued to shout at the Turian.

"What are you going on about?" Garrus asked.

"They are the enemy they ruined a pair of my shorts when I was asleep and I walked out with them on and made a complete fool of myself. Ladies this is War!" He continued to rant. He grinned when he left and it made the two girls shudder in fear of what was to come Garrus followed in after him.

"_Commander we are almost at our destination."_ Joker's voice came over the radio.

"Ash go get Naruto and get armored up." Shepard said with a smile.

"Where are we?" Ashley asked.

"Naruto's home." She continued to smile.

Naruto stood on the bridge with a smile on his face as the Normandy entered the planets atmosphere, he could even see Konoha in the distance out of the front windows.

"Man there all going to freak when they see this baby." Naruto grinned. "Does this thing even have landing gear?"

"Top of the range for the Normandy, now we just go to find a place big enough to land." Joker replied.

"To the south of that gate there should be a big enough area to land." Naruto told him and Joker nodded as he followed the blonde's instructions.

"I see it, all right we will be down in a minute go tell Shepard."

"You tell Shepard all you have to do is press a button!" Naruto argued.

"I'm busy landing the ship just go to the armory and tell her would you!" Joker argued back.

"EDI! Tell Shepard were almost down."

"_Of course Mr Namikaze."_ EDI replied.

"That's a first." Joker mumbled.

"Open the doors Joker!"

"What! Why would I do that in mid air!" Joker yelled.

"I'm going on the roof now unlock and open the doors." The blonde smirked and Joker nodded and opened the hatch and watched Naruto exit the Normandy.

"That kid is going to get me in trouble one day." He smiled as he went back to his terminals. Naruto stood atop the ship chakra holding him in place his arms spread out and wind rushing past him. He smiled as the ground became closer. He could hear the landing gear come out as they hovered just a kilometer over the ground and start to descend and came to a halt when they landed. He heard the door open and something mechanical begin to unfold and cursing about slow moving machines when Shepard and most of the crew came running out and Jack walking out with a huge smile on her face until she looked up and saw that the blonde was still alive.

"Why the hell aren't you dead!" Jack yelled.

"Because I would miss you far to much." Naruto laughed. He ran down the side of the Normandy and landed next to Shepard. "Shall we go?"

"After you." Shepard said with a smile and followed the blonde who was walking with Grunt and Garrus.

"Alright Grunt I'll tell you who he is as soon as we see him ok, he is always up for a good fight and you will hand his ass to him on a god damn silver platter." Naruto smirked and evil smirk as they walked along.

"Good, I will have to test your friends strength."

"Friend." He laughed. "yeah even though this guy has tried to kill me plenty of times, we're still friends." He continued. They had been walking for an hour until the gates came into view. The aliens were in the middle of the group so that any passer by wouldn't be able to get a clear look at them. Naruto was flirting with Shepard and was seemingly making her blush. Jacob and Miranda were at the back and the rest of the crew were walking along. _"So they already sent Anbu out huh...since when is Hinata Anbu?"_Naruto thought.

"Naruto what's wrong?"

"Just thinking about something." There was movement to there left and they all readied there weapons except for Naruto.

"N-Naruto!" Hinata yelled as she ran at the blonde. The female's of the group were quite self conscious of there bodies when she made herself known for her large assets that she had. "You're home Naruto." She said as she clung to him.

"Only for a few day's Hinata but then have to go again." He told her.

"W-what b-but why?" Hinata asked looking into his blue eyes.

"My mission isn't done yet, there were just some things that I need to do here before we complete the mission." He told her as she pulled back from his embrace.

"Man Naruto, girls here are just hanging off you." Garrus said as he walked up to them. Hinata's jaw dropped and her eyes opened wide as she looked on at her first alien before she fainted in Naruto's arms.

"_Damn bitch probably did it on purpose."_ Shepard thought.

"_**Never fails, does it, Kid?**_"

"T_he more things change, Fox, the more they stay the same. I doubt Hinata will ever quit fainting around me. Even after all the talks we've had about just remaining friends_."

"Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze!" A voice from some bushes came out followed by four Anbu members.

"yeah what is it!" Naruto barked back.

"Please let us escort you to the Hokage." One of the members said.

"This is different from the first time." Miranda said.

"What do you mean?" Garrus asked.

"As soon as we walked though the front gate he was pinned to the ground with a sword at his throat." Jacob continued.

"I can find my own way thank you very much!" Naruto growled at them making them all take a step back from the blonde. "Let's go, we have to go see if Hinata is alright, I'll take her to the hospital, Jane do you mind taking the squad up to Granny Tsunade, the crew can probably stay here with a few Anbu guards." Shepard nodded her head as she took the crew and headed for the village while the Anbu members stayed to look after the crew and Naruto jumped into the tree's with an unconscious Hinata in his arms.

Hinata's eyes fluttered open and she could see that she was in a hospital room, she couldn't remember why she was in the hospital she was just getting back when she saw...Naruto. She instantly leaped out of the hospital bed and looked around the room to find that there was no one in the room and she calmed down and sat back down on the bed. She felt like crying, was she imagining that her long time love had returned and that she was just sever;y injured on the mission and dreamt the last few hours. But she spotted something on the table beside her and she could see that it was a note.

_Hinata_

_Sorry I wasn't there when you woke up. Grandma Tsunade_

_wanted to talk to me about some things. But we'll talk again before I go._

_Keep the next few days clear I'll try and see you in the next three days ok._

_Naruto_

All throughout the hospital you could hear a loud girlish scream that would rival ten screaming pink haired banshee fan girls.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So Naruto you just came back to pay your respects to Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked the blonde while looking over the aliens in her office.

"yeah Pervy Sage deserves it for everything that he did for me, if it wasn't for him I would of never got my sage training done or never beat the Akatsuki. I just thought that it would be good to say hi before I go." He smiled back at her.

"And the others Naruto?"

"There here on temporary shore leave from the mission, I thought that it would be alright if they stay here in the village." Naruto said sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

"And who is going to pay for there expenses Naruto?" Tsunade grumbled.

"I thought that I could do a couple of S-rank missions while I'm here and the money from that can go into the bills that they have." Naruto continued and Tsunade was shocked the the usual idiot blonde had thought it through for once.

"Alright Naruto I think that two S-ranks will be sufficient you will be paid in advance so that your crew can have the luxury of spending your money." She smirked. "One today and another one after tomorrow. You know what tomorrow is so you can have the day to yourself." Naruto nodded his head. "Jane may I speak with you in private for a moment?" Shepard nodded and signaled for the rest to leave the room.

"What did you do to Naruto!" She ordered.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"He is somewhat smarter then usual." Tsunade said standing up from her desk. "I mean he was always smart in his own way but I mean he takes things into account now."

"He doesn't seem to smart to me all he does on the Normandy is play pranks." Shepard mumbled. Tsunade laughed and Shepard raised an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Of course he would play pranks he is the number one most unpredictable ninja that the elemental countries ." Tsunade smirked.

"So how do I play a prank on him?" Shepard asked with a glint in her eye.

"I don't have a clue he is a master at pranks, see the Hokage monument?" Shepard nodded. "He painted that and nobody even noticed until he was done and he did it in a orange jumpsuit in the middle of the day." Shepard went pale after hearing that.

"So there is no way to win." She mumbled.

"What do you mean win?"

"He sad that we were at war with the pranks." Tsunade went pale also much to Shepard's shock.

"Get on his good side do anything you have to do, I have heard some stories of what he has done and there was never any proof that he did it." By now both woman were starting to panic when Sasuke got thrown through the door.

"Naruto he wasn't even a match." Grunt argued with the blonde.

"I told you that you would hand his ass to him on a silver platter." Naruto laughed. Sasuke mumbled something incoherent and passed out on the floor of the office.

"Naruto your back!" Sakura screamed as she ran at Naruto who looked over his shoulder at her with a smile on his face. "Naruto?"

"Sakura look, I'm only back for a few days to pay my respects to Pervy Sage," Naruto told her, "If I get a chance, I would like to catch up with you and Sasuke, and discuss a few things that I've noticed, and my possible plans. Until then, I have something to do. Grandma?"

"OK Naruto, here it is. Be careful tho and try and be back in a few hours Gaara will be here this afternoon." Shizune smiled at the blonde and he lit up.

"Really, what's he coming here for?" He asked.

"He has some business with Tsunade so make sure you catch up with him OK." Shizune smiled and he nodded his head.

"Granny Tsunade where are we staying?" Naruto asked.

"I'll have Shizune take you to the Uchiha compound there should be sufficient amount of room there since it's only Sasuke." Tsunade replied. Grunt smirked at that hoping he would be able to get a decent re-match.

"Jacob, go with Jack to get the rest of the crew." Shepard ordered and both of them nodded and left the office. Naruto looked over the mission he was given and he smirked an evil smirk.

"Is this right Granny Tsunade?" Naruto asked and said woman nodded her head in agreement.

"Ever since your heritage has been known Iwa has been getting more and more suspicious lately, you have to take care of that for us." She smiled. Naruto nodded and headed for the door.

"Ill be back just before sunrise, make sure Gaara is still here alright." Tsunade nodded her head and he disappeared.

"Where is he going?" Shepard asked.

"Just to blow some stuff up." Tsunade smirked. "It would be easier for him to go on his own as it would be quicker for him to use chakra to enhance his speed where you would still have to travel on foot." Shepard nodded her head in agreement. "Shizune would you please take this group to the Uchiha compound and get a few Anbu members to get Sasuke off of my floor." She sighed. Shizune giggled and nodded her head.

XXXXXXXXXX

It had been just over five hours and Naruto was still pumped for the mission and he was only a few hours out, he was still in his armor and had checked over his guns before he left to make sure that he had enough ammo for what he had planned. He hadn't even used up half of his chakra in the last few hours as he had so much, he was glad that this was the mission he was going to do what his father couldn't, to destroy Iwa once and for all. He knew that he had to do it in secret and make sure that the civilians got out and any that could get out but he had to destroy the actual foundation of Iwa itself. He was tree jumping when he felt that he was being followed so he landed on the ground and took out one of his pistols when a group of Iwa nin dropped down behind him.

"Y-Your a Namikaze!" One of the ninja shouted.

"Yeah, and I'm here to see old man, Tsuchikage. He should remember me from the war, especially the battle with that resurrected Madara Uchiha," Naruto told the Iwa nins, "Get him, for me, and I'll spare all of you."

Twenty minutes later, Oonoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, came out with his grand-daughter, Kurotsuchi. "Naruto-kun. It's been too long."

"Tell me about it, Old man," Naruto replied, "what's this I heard about Iwa raising a ruckus about my parents being revealed?"

"Long story short? Your father killed about 500 of my men in a matter of seconds, in a battle during the 3rd Shinobi war. My council wanted to call for your head, but I'm doing my best to keep them back."

"It's not working like you hoped, is it?" Naruto inquired

"Not even close."

"OK, tell your council this, for me," Naruto advises, "I'm even stronger than my father. Not only am I a Namikaze, but I still have Kurama on my side. That's right, the Kyuubi. They'd be doing good to keep the war-time alliance going, and stop making a ruckus about me, or I could come back, and raze this village to the ground with little than a thought."

"I think that would work," Oonoki responded, "Wait here." He then left, leaving Naruto time to catch up with Kurotsuchi, who he had met during the war.

An hour later, Oonoki came back. "The council will not raise another word about you, Naruto-kun. I think just the threat of having to face the Kyuubi and you had them about to mess themselves."

"_**That would do it, Kid,**_"

"_Tell me about it, Fox_." Naruto thought back, laughing mentally, "_Just the threat of you, and they're already shitting their pants. Perfect_." He then addressed the Tsuchikage, "Ok, old man, thanks. I'll tell Grandma everything's ok with Iwa now. While I'm thinking about it, there's something you need to know." Naruto then went on to describe the situation with the Reapers.

"I'll send a message to Tsunade and the other Kage to strengthen the alliance, so we can help when needed."

"Thanks, Oonoki." Naruto then left Iwa, and headed back to Konoha.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As the sun rose for a new day over Konoha there one sat atop of the fourth Hokage's head looking out over the village. He had returned before the sun was up just to see the view that he loved so much when he was a kid. When it was around five am he headed for where Shepard was staying to get her back for his pants after all Naruto had only one way to retaliate to a prank successfully made on him and that was a prank war. He headed over to the Uchiha estate he was hoping that the last Uchiha was in the hospital after what Grunt did to him. And for once in Naruto's life luck was on his side. He was pretty much left alone as he ran all the way to the Uchiha compound where he saw Garrus sitting with his rifle in pieces as he was cleaning it.

"Morning." Naruto said as walked up to him.

"Back already I see." Garrus said not looking away from cleaning his weapon.

"There is something that I have to do." He grinned evilly. The tone is his voice made Garrus look up.

"What ever your planning I'm in." Garrus smirked back. Naruto nodded and gestured for him to follow him into the kitchen. If anyone was up at that time of morning they would see two shadow's moving through a house into a kitchen undeniably on their tip toes trying to be quiet.

Two hours later Naruto and Garrus were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee when they heard Shepard's door open and out walked Shepard her hair was a mess and she wore a black tank top with a pair of short shorts and mumbled a good morning before heading to the bathroom. The shower started and she screamed.

"Sorry Shepard, I used all the hot water this morning!" Garrus called out grinning. The water stopped and Shepard exited the shower and went to the sink after wrapping a towel around her body. She grabbed her hair dryer that she had brought down from the Normandy and turned it on only for her face to be covered in flour from inside the hair dryer. The door to the bathroom opened to reveal Shepard's now white face still only in a towel and she glared right at Garrus who was now sitting at the table by himself. She marched right up to him and placed both her hands down on the table making the short towel ride up a bit making the lower half of her ass known to the world.

"Where is he!" She growled at Garrus.

"I have no idea who your talking about Commander." He said with a smile faking his innocence.

"You know damn right who I me-!" She was cut off as she was slapped on her ass making her real her head and torso back her eyes closed from the pain but when she opened them there was whole desert pie heading straight for her face. Naruto had snuck up behind her slapped her ass and planted a whole desert pie in her face.

"And to think I'm only just beginning." Naruto grinned as he entered the bathroom after reattaching the hot water service back was in complete shock she didn't even know where to start.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the mornings little incident Naruto hadn't been seen and it was now close to midday. Shepard knew that he was somewhere around the outskirts of the village with Tsunade but she had no idea how to even start looking for the blonde. Said blonde was where he had first layed down Konan's paper flowers and his Teachers very first book. Tsunade had left a little over an hour ago and thought that Naruto could use some alone time. Naruto sat up against the same tree his eyes closed as he prayed for his teacher. A twig snapping under foot brought him out of his pray and directed them at the intrusion to see someone he hadn't seen for a long time. Konan.

"Good Morning Naruto." Konan greeted. She wore a black cloak similar to her old Akatsuki cloak but no longer adorning the red clouds that the cloak once had. Her hair still had the same flower in it as any other time that he had seen her even if only from a distance. Not every time he saw her she knew about it or him for that matter.

"Konan it's good to see you." He greeted as he stood up, he wore just civilian clothes a white shirt with some blue pants.

"I see that you are visiting him, I'm glad I got to see you again Naruto."

"How are things back in the hidden rain?" He asked.

"We opened up trade routes with other countries, even the hidden leaf has given us pardon for what we did but I think that all of that was because of you, Naruto." She smiled as she layed down another bouquet of flowers at where he had layed the first. "I am truly happy to see you again Naruto. I hear your on a mission from outsiders."

"Hehe you could say that." He smirked at her. Konan nodded and knelt down and prayed for Jiraiya.

"Keep safe Naruto, remember if you ever need anything just let me know OK, you have done more then anyone has ever done for the rain village and I really want to show my appreciation. I really want you to know. I mean really." She repeated more intensely.

Naruto caught onto her double entendre, and responded with, "I was just doing what was right, Konan. Just look how you have prospered over the last few years." He smiled. Konan smiled at him knowing he was trying to say no to her proposition in a way that wouldn't hurt her feelings. She smiled as she stood up and gently kissed him on the cheek making them both blush a little and started to walk away.

"Ill see you again Naruto, stay safe out there." She said over her shoulder and Naruto just dumbly nodded his head.

"_**You are the biggest fucking tool I have ever met you know that!**_**"**Kurama roared. **"**_**I mean that hot smoking piece of ass wanted you, you! Of all people and you turned her down!**_**"**

"Are you forgetting_ about Shepard?"_ Naruto asked.

"_**You know, I think I was. Sorry.**_**" **He answered, but Naruto just ignored the rants and protests of the fox and wished his Mother and Father had given him complete control over the fox so that he could shut him up when ever he needed to. Naruto left after Konan did and headed back to the village where he would get the next few days after tomorrow off as he still had one more S-rank to do but for the rest of the day he could relax...yeah right. He was found by Kiba and Akamaru who had been searching all over for him when he finally made it known that he was back Kiba found him straight away.

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba called out from behind the blonde who turned around to be tackled by Akamaru.

"Hey you two, what are you two up to?" Naruto asked.

"Well Tsunade and Hinata said you were back for a while so I thought, _'what the hell let's have a party'_." Kiba grinned always one for the parties. "Gaara is going to be there to, I even told him that you were going to be there and he actually smiled. At least I think he smiled I can never tell with that guy." Kiba said as he pondered in thought for a moment as Naruto stood up while patting Akamaru on the head.

"Sure i'll come where is it?"

"My place around seven-ish."

"Seven-ish?" Naruto asked.

"yeah you know some time around seven."

"I know what it means!" He yelled at the guy. "Why so early?"

"Well I heard you got another S-rank in the morning so I just made it a little earlier."

"Well OK then I just thought it might be because you still had a bed time." Naruto chuckled.

"Shut up! I can't believe you ever convinced my Mum to give me a bed time." Kiba yelled at him only for Naruto to chuckle more.

"Hey do you mind if I bring someone?" Naruto asked which made Kiba look at the blonde seriously.

"You have a girlfriend?" He asked.

"You could say that... plus she has some really good looking friends." Naruto continued with a smirk. Kiba was practically drooling at the thought of meeting some hot women and instantly agreed to it. So when Naruto got back to his temporary home he invited everyone in the squad out for a few drinks. All agreed except for Grunt who didn't like company very much. Jack was going to do the same but when she got a look form Shepard she reluctantly agreed to it as well. Joker was even psyched for it. So around seven they headed through the streets in their best clothes. Kasumi had decided to stay and see what Grunt was doing and Zaeed had done the same had mumbled something about 'not a people person'. Tali had wanted to stay but Naruto had latched onto her arm making her stutter out what she wanted to say and gave up doing it and just enjoyed the warmth that he gave her, much to Shepard's discomfort at how close they were getting but Ashley kept her mind off of things but dragging her into a store of some sorts.

Kiba's house was pretty big, about four bedrooms in all but the party was out the back and Naruto led the entourage inside. Garrus was uneasy he had seen how Hinata had reacted to him and had no idea how others would handle it but he trusted Naruto and as of yet was unable to have a drink with him. All turned to look at the group who had just walked in, most of the group had gasped at the appearance of Garrus but most of all the guy's jaws were hanging off there hinges at the way that the girls looked in there dresses. Miranda wore a black dress with white stripes with a single strap over her shoulder and it stopped at her thigh showing a lot of her long shapely legs and letting her hair down over one shoulder. Jack wore a pair of jeans and a T-shirt so not a lot there. Kelley wore a red dress that was around her ankles and had to straps over her shoulders and her short hair was done up in a little ponytail. Ashley wore a pair of dark jeans and a T-shirt, she wasn't much for dresses. Tali was in a white and red version of her environmental suit and Shepard wore a blue dress that came down under her knees her hair was done up in a Japanese style with chopsticks sticking out.

Unfortunately Sakura had the same hairstyle.

"Sorry we're late, Garrus here had a little bit of a hard time getting ready." Naruto smiled as he placed a hand on Garrus's shoulder.

"Hey Naruto just in time, buddy. We fired up the barbecue wanna cook!" Shikamaru called out and Naruto grinned.

"Sure why not." He smiled as he walked over and let the others fan out in the group. Garrus followed Naruto and Tali had stuck with Shepard and Kelley who went and spoke with Sakura. Ashley made her way over and introduced herself to Tenten and the two got along perfectly and started talking about weapons. Naruto grabbed a beer out of Kiba's fridge as he made his way over and started cooking while talking, he introduced Garrus and he and Shikamaru got along fine and walked off and talked while Naruto started to cook the food. He felt a pair of eyes glaring into his back and he could see Jack glaring at him he had to gulp when he suddenly got an idea in his head. He handed the job of cooking over to Kiba who was talking with Ino and they both made there way over to the barbecue. Naruto found the red head he was looking for.

"Hey Gaara, it's been a while." Naruto greeted.

"It has been a while Naruto." He said in his usual monotone voice. They both shook hands. "I see you have some new friends." Gaara continued.

"yeah I want you to meet one of them." Naruto smiled as he placed his arm around Gaara's shoulders and headed for Jack who was in the middle of drinking her umpteenth drink. "Gaara this is Jack I'm sure you both have a lot in common I mean the first time we met each other you both tried to kill me am I right." Naruto smirked and Jack perked up at that.

"So you tried to kill the blonde idiot huh."

"It was a long time ago but yes." Gaara said as Naruto walked away but he could hear Jack say 'I like you'. Naruto walked through the crowd when a hand landed on his shoulder and it only had three fingers.

"Hey Tali." He greeted.

"Hey Naruto..." She greeted in return. "Your village is beautiful, I don't think I have seen anything like it." She continued.

"What about your home world Tali?"

"I have never seen it." She said sadly. "I want to step on it's surface just once before I die." She continued.

"So Tali those suits are keeping you alive yeah?"

"Ah yes they are our immune systems have been weakened over the course of generations of living aboard the flotilla." She said matter of factly. "Why is that?"

"Oh just making conversation, enjoy the party." He smiled at her and he almost thought that she blushed.

Sakura had watched as Naruto made his way through the groups of people smiling and he had even yet to look in her direction she had even dressed up real nice for him in a white dress with a flower design in pink running up the side and the dress really brought out her green eyes. She wore a pair of high heels which were white and the laces wrapped around her legs and came to her mid calf. She was currently in a small group of Shepard and Kelly, another woman that had come along with the group, and she immediately introduced herself and found that the woman was very polite. Shepard still made her laugh and she noticed that the Commander didn't talk about Naruto at all when she was around. They could hear laughing over where Naruto had been and him and Garrus were in the middle of an arm wrestling match and both were noticeably drunk. Naruto was trying to win without chakra and Hinata was making sure he wasn't using any as she had her Byakugan active watching with the others. But in brute strength Garrus was stronger then Naruto and ended up winning making Naruto slump down in defeat as Garrus stood up and addressed everyone.

"Is there no one out there that can beat me!" He yelled and Shepard laughed at her friend. "Come on down then Shepard since you obliviously think that me cannot beat you in a fair match." He slurred. Shepard nodded and handed her drink to Sakura and sat where Naruto had been currently sitting. They both put there hands up and Garrus won again. Garrus laughed again while Shepard picked up Naruto from where he had fallen on the ground.

"Naruto are you OK?" Shepard asked.

"Maser be fineeeeee." He slurred. She grinned at him and sat him up.

"Garrus Naruto is plastered. Call it a night would ya." Shepard spoke up and the Turian stood up on the table and bowed his head and everyone giggled.

"Greetings people especially you." He winked at Ino who blushed a little. "We now must take our leave as Naruto can not hold his liquor!" He shouted at the blonde all the while grinning only to get a one finger salute from the blonde which made everyone laugh. "So I bid you goodnight pleasant dreams and a peaceful evening." He bowed again and they applauded him as he stumbled off the table. Both Garrus and Naruto had left the party singing random songs one each and neither knew what the other was singing. There were a few lights that came on as it was the middle of the night. Some shouting from old men could be heard and all Naruto and Garrus did was sing louder as they walked down random streets. Sasuke had the unfortunate delight of apologizing to the old people they had woken up. Naruto had stopped dead in the middle of the street Garrus had continued on with Shepard and the others and Sasuke had caught up with Naruto who was standing and swaying in the street.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked as he walked up behind him only to see Naruto turn around and go to punch him in the face except that it was sluggish and he was acting like he was moving in slow motion the whole time so when it hit Sasuke he had to suppress a grin. "You done?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at him before he grinned then hunched over and threw up on his feet.

"All done." Naruto said as he ran up and tackled Garrus to the ground while singing again before he passed out a few more meters up the road.

Naruto awoke to find him not in the room he had picked out the previous morning, he tried to remember what had happened after he had introduced Gaara and Jack to one another as he looked around and felt his head spin before it settled and went straight to the fox. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and went to the bathroom and walked in on Garrus throwing up in the toilet. He laughed at the Turian only to get growled at and he walked out of the room. In the kitchen Shepard was cooking what looked to be bacon and eggs only for the bacon to be heavily burnt and Shepard sleeping while standing up. Naruto took the pan off of the stove and placed it on a plate as he woke Shepard up.

"You were sleep cooking." Naruto grinned.

"How's your head?" She asked as she sat down next to him.

"Fine and you?"

"Horrible." She moaned as she clutched her head.

"What's that smell?" Naruto asked as he looked around a burnt piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth.

"On the way home last night you throw up on Sasuke." Shepard grinned and Naruto returned one. "Don't you have another mission today?" Naruto nodded his head as he walked back into the bathroom after Garrus had left and took his shower. He left that morning while the rest recovered from last night.

"Where the hell does he get the stamina from?" Ashley asked before she rushed to the bathroom to throw up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto arrived at Tsunade's office to find her passed out on her paperwork. Shizune giggled as she saw that and he had a plan to get her before she woke up. He made a clone and made it henge into a Kakashi perfect replica. He then placed the clone's hand down Tsunade's cleavage as he left the room grinning the slight sound of moaning could be heard.

"I thought I should let her get over her hangover." Naruto grinned. "Do you have the mission for me?" Shizune nodded her head as she went into the draws.

"This one is by far a lot easier then the last." Shizune told him as she handed him the mission details and he grinned as he raced down the stairs and all he could hear is 'KAKASHI!' as he left the office building, laughing hysterically, along with the fox.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Shepard stood in the middle of the Uchiha main house glaring at Garrus who had just failed at another attempt prank on said Commander. It just wasn't the same without Naruto.

"Can you prove that it was me?" Garrus asked as he looked at her with the best puppy dog eyes he could manage.

"I saw you do it!" Shepard yelled at him. Ashley was to the side laughing at her Turian friend she had seen him start the prank and warned Shepard about the whole thing. "That's it you and Naruto are not allowed to pull any more pranks!" She continued to shout.

"Oh come on it's just harmless fun!" Garrus shouted back.

"Garrus it is fun but there are limits and I guess Naruto needs to learn these limits." Shepard grinned an evil grin. There was a knock on the door and Miranda went and opened it to find an Anbu member standing out the front.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Commander Shepard please report to the Hokage it is very urgent." The Anbu replied as he disappeared Shepard looked around and nodded to Garrus who stood up and left with Shepard to the Hokage tower. Tsunade had a very distant look on her face like the one she had when she found out about the news on Jiraiya

"Commander good to see you, but unfortunately this is not good news." Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her forehead.

"What do you mean Lady Tsunade?" Shepard asked.

"It's the stupid council they want Naruto to stay in the village and say that he is not allowed to leave with you." She sighed again.

"But you're the leader of the village can't you do something about this?" Garrus asked Tsunade looked over to the Turian and smiled a sad smile.

"I wish I could but unfortunately Naruto is head of two clans now. The Uzumaki clan and the Namikaze clan."

"Isn't there any other clan members that could take his place for the time being?' Shepard asked.

"No he is the last of both clans and by village law he is meant to be stuck in this village until his first son can bare a child."

"So there is nothing that you can do about it?" Shepard asked as she started to feel like he was being taken away from her just like everyone else in her life. First it was Alenko then members of the Normandy crew, then if it wasn't for Naruto she probably wouldn't have got Ash back either and now she was losing the most precious person to her.

"There is something that I can do." Tsunade told her and she perked up at that. "You see Naruto wasn't here long enough to say he was a citizen of the hidden leaf. So therefore he is still a missing nin which means he has no alliance to any village."

"But won't people come after him then?"

"They will but there are two things stopping them from killing him, firstly he is the head of the two most powerful clans in the five ninja nations and he won't even be on the planet he will be with you guys." Tsunade smirked at them. There was a tap on the window which was a messenger bird. Tsunade opened the window and looked at the letter and she was shocked.

"Is everything alright Lady Tsunade?" Garrus asked.

"I wish it was. Naruto's last mission has gone wrong in so many ways."

"Does he need backup?" Shepard asked and Tsunade nodded. "Where are we headed then?"

XXXXXXXXXX

A few hours Earlier Naruto had reached the edge of Wind country where he was escorting Gaara back to the hidden sound village when they were ambushed by s-class missing Sand nins who had fled to the hidden sound after Gaara had become the Kazekage. All five of them were quite powerful but both of their honour meant that they would not run from a fight and they both knew it.

"So what do we do?" Gaara asked the now thinking blonde.

"Well I could always tag out with Kurama and let him take these guys out. Sometimes it helps to have a friendly relationship with your biiju. Then what?" Naruto replied. Gaara nodded at his reasoning when he spoke once more.

"Well I was getting sick of the job of being the Kazekage anyway to much paper work." Gaara smiled as the missing nin surrounded them both.

"What are both of you discussing!" One of the nin shouted he wasn't a patient man by any means.

"Nothing my good man but there are a few things that me and my friend must discuss so how about you be on your way and let us settle things." Naruto responded with a smile which took the others off guard and all of them missed Gaara's hand signs.

"Sand Style Sand burial!" Gaara called out and before any of them knew it three of the missing nin were killed by suffocation from Gaaras attack. The other two were already in combat with Naruto, he was in his armor which made it slightly more difficult for him to move but managed to stab one of them in the eye making him cry out in pain as Naruto stood over him with one of his pistols in his hand and pointing down at the guys skull.

"How can you move in that?" Gaara asked.

"Well you know, its a bit hard but you get use to the limitations of it." Naruto smiled again, the other nin was on the ground cowering as he watched Naruto pull a trigger on the strange weapon and watched as his friends head exploded seconds after.

"You, tell the people back in the village that I have decided to resign." Gaara said as he stepped next to Naruto. Both of them watched as he nodded his head and ran off towards the hidden sand. "So what now?"

"Well..." Naruto grinned.

"Well what?" Gaara asked.

"I saw you checking out Miranda the other night so why not come on this mission with me you get cool gadgets." Naruto smiled. Gaara had to turn his head away he did find the Cerberus officer rather attractive and they both had some things in common there fathers wanted them as a legacy that would be remembered and they both found each other fascinating, they could learn much from one another. "So what do ya say?"

"Well I guess I have no where else to go now I'm just like you a missing nin." Gaara responded.

"You just want the super cool gadgets and to be a hero the whole galaxy would know of because that is what sold me." Naruto grinned and Gaara had to laugh at Naruto's point that the gadgets that he had were quite awesome and the whole hero charade. That was just the start of there troubles they travelled around not wanting to go straight back to the hidden leaf and wanting to make some trouble for some bandits that Gaara had heard about in the last few months that had come into a massive crime organisation in a short period of time. That was were the trouble started and in a big way. They had no idea that some other villages had infiltrated the organisation already and they completely wiped out a third of the entire organisation in just over an hour after scouting out there surroundings. That's when shit hit the fan. There was a powerful missing nin that founded the organisation and he was on a par with Naruto this caused trouble because when they met the whole organisation was fighting shadow clones along with Gaaras sand clones. So when the big boss came out Naruto went straight for him not knowing of his strength.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sakura and Sasuke were leading the group that consisted of Shepard Garrus and Ashley they weren't able to use chakra to enhance there speed so they were travelling at a slow jog to keep there energy encase they needed to enter combat. Sasuke was concerned he knew that Naruto would never back down from a fight and the leader of the organisation had even beat him, sharingan notwithstanding. Garrus knew what Naruto was capable of but had no idea what anyone else on this planet could do so he was on his guard along with Ashley she wouldn't admit it but she actually liked Naruto. Shepard was the most worried she didn't want him losing any sort of control out here.

And that's when they heard the explosion and the burst of red and black energy that went into the sky and they all saw a red head jumping back from tree to tree.

"Gaara!" Sakura called out. Gaara looked over his shoulder and if he could show some sought of emotion his jaw probably would have dropped but he kept his cool and slowly dropped to the forest floor and approached the little group.

"What are you doing out here?" Sasuke asked.

"Well..." Gaara started.

"Is Naruto with you?" Shepard asked.

"He was with me until a few moments ago." Gaara sighed.

"What do you mean was with you?" Garrus asked.

"Well you see..."

**'ROAR'**

"Does that answer your question?" He continued.

"How many!" Sakura ordered.

"How many what!" Garrus yelled at her.

"Tails, she wants to know how many tails has Naruto took the form off." Sasuke answered.

"Tails? Ashley asked at once.

"All nine. Naruto is his full biiju form," Gaara reported, "He shouldn't be too much longer."

"We don't have time to waste here!" Shepard ordered.

"What aren't you telling us Commander!" Garrus yelled.

"Don't worry, Garrus, he has full control of the fox's power. Has had for the last 3 years!" Sakura shouted at the Turian.

"As Shepard said we don't have time for this he in full biiju mode at the moment, and we need to get the fuck out of here." Gaara said after he was done catching his breath. "

There was another explosion and three mutilated bodies hit the ground around them leaving indentions in the forest floor. There was another Godly roar and another explosion and they got the first sight of Naruto in his Biiju form off in the distance. The golden energy created the image of a massive fox with several black marks on its body.

"Is that Naruto?" Ashley asked. "He has control right?" She asked again.

"yeah," Sakura explained, "he went through a series of training to get control. Well that's what Lady Tsunade told me. "According to Kakashi-Sensei, he gained full control during the battle with Tobi, the real leader of Akatsuki.

It was then that the sounds of battle had ended, and the fox form slowly receded. Naruto landed on the ground, and fell to one knee, catching his breath. It was at that moment that the last of the bandits found him, and held a kunai to the blonde's neck. That bandit got shot in the head with a shell from Shepard's gun. Naruto finally lost consciousness as Garrus bent down and picked the shinobi up.

XXXXXXXXXX

To say the least, the reports left a sour taste in the mouth of the Hokage. The destruction of the criminal organization was on her list of things to be done. So, she was thankful that Naruto was able to take care of that particular situation, but his condition, when he got back, was another thing entirely. She had never seen him in such a case of chakra depletion. She was sure that the Kyuubi was helping him heal, but she still thought of the unpredictable knucklehead as a grandson, so she kept close track of his condition. According to her best estimates, Naruto would be out for a few days.

It was four days later, that Naruto woke up. He got the release from the hospital, and walked out.

"Jane?" Naruto asked as he entered the room.

"Naruto your back!" She yelled as she wrapped her arms around him,"I thought you would still be in the hospital." Naruto placed his arms around her returning the hug.

"I got released this afternoon, I'm so happy that your ok," He told Shepard as she sobbed into his shoulder.

"I don't want to lose you Naruto I can't lose you I don't think I wouldn't be able to take it." She cried even more.

"I'm not going anywhere Jane." He smiled at her and did one thing she was not expecting kissed her full on the lips. She was completely shocked she was not expecting it but soon returned the kiss with more force then Naruto started with pushing him up against a wall. They finally broke the kiss after a few minutes and both looked in each others eyes.

"What was that for?" Jane asked as she rested her head on his chest.

"I figured were to short lived a species. might as well make the most of it." He smiled down at her. "Go get some rest, I say we leave in the next two days. We have things that need done." Shepard nodded her head and headed for her door. She leaned up against it half her body inside and her other half outside with the Japanese style door resting between her breasts and she looked at Naruto with an innocent smile.

"Sleep with me tonight?" She asked and Naruto made his way over to her and nodded as he bent down and kissed her again and got into bed and genuinely slept in each others arms the entire night.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What's going on in here!" Garrus shouted sarcastically as he walked in on Naruto and Shepard gaining everyone's attention that made them all curious and Garrus just had his usual shit eating grin on his face as he saw Shepard sit up in bed groggily as she wiped the sleep out of her eyes. Naruto was still asleep to her side. "So what is going on?" He asked with all seriousness.

"I'm actually not sure." Shepard replied as she scratched her head. "Things just kind of happened last night."

"Bow chicka bow wow." Garrus replied still smirking. "Anyway, Joker is hobbling back to the Normandy with the rest of the crew, they said that they will pick us up tomorrow around midday." Shepard nodded and glared at Garrus who took it as his que to leave and did so as Shepard once again was warmed with Naruto's embrace and sighed in relief. Naruto shifted in his sleep and Shepard couldn't help but run her fingers over the whisker marks on his cheeks and a slight purr could be heard as he tried to nuzzle into her hand and she had to suppress back a cute little giggle. Naruto's eyes opened slowly and looked at Shepard who was smiling back at him.

"Morning Naruto."

"I didn't do it!" He shouted out of impulse as he sat up quickly. Shepard laid a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back down to the bed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"You need to learn that if you wake up with a woman by your side that you didn't do something wrong. Ok." Shepard told him and he dumbly nodded his head.

"Wake up love birds!" Garrus shouted.

"Were up!" Shepard yelled back as she reluctantly stood up from her position on the bed. "What is it Garrus."

"Lady Tsunade said that Tali is ready to come out of isolation." Garrus smiled slightly.

"Are you serious?" Garrus nodded his head. "Naruto get dressed were going to be the first people in the galaxy to see what a Quarian looks like in over four hundred years." Shepard smiled. Naruto was up in seconds ever since he had met Tali he had wanted to know what she looks like under the mask. Garrus and Naruto walked side by side as Ashley and Shepard walked behind them.

"So what happened last night Commander?" Ash asked.

"I'm not sure, one minute we were talking then the next he kissed me, and I can tell you I have never been kissed like that before." She smiled with a dreamy look on her face.

"I'm not talking about that I want details of last night!" She ordered in a whisper.

"Nothing happened." Shepard replied.

"Are you serious I would have, I mean have you seen that kids ass its like it was carved by a god or something look at it!" She said as her eyes were glued to the backside of Naruto, Shepard couldn't help but look either and had to smirk as a blush covered her face. "I can't believe you didn't get with that."

"What! Since when do we talk about each others love lives!" She shouted a little too loudly making Naruto and Garrus look back at them with questioning looks.

"It's nothing just admiring the view." Ash smirked and they continued on there way. "How about you just yell out to the whole god damn planet that were talking about what could have been your steamy hot night with one smoke-n ass guy." She chuckled.

"Oh shut up, lets go see Tali already."

XXXXXXXXXX

For the past three days Tali had been under constant tests but was assured by Tsunade and her assistant Shizune that they could bring her immunity to bacteria and all other diseases back up to at least eighty percent so that she would not have to wear her environmental suit all the time and could breath pure oxygen again and it was all a success. The young Quarian was so excited to be out of her suit without the risk of getting sick that she ran around the hospital room practically naked in nothing but a dressing gown. Shizune said that she should rest but she was to excited and Tsunade said that it would cause no damage and she could rest later. Tali had told her that she was forever in her debt and Tsunade just waved it off saying she was a friend of Naruto's and there was no need for thanks. Tali collapsed on the bed when she was finally out of breath her long dark purple hair covering her face as she was laying face down giggling. This is what Shepard and the others walked into find.

"Tali are you ok?" Shepard asked and Tali instantly looked up and everyone gasped. She was completely beautiful, her skin was a light shade of purple, her eyes were completely white with an eerie glow to them. Her long dark purple hair came down past her shoulders and she had the most beautiful smile you could ever lay your eyes on.

"Shepard look at me I don't need my mask or my suit!" Tali said jumping for joy.

"Tali, your beautiful." Shepard replied and Tali blushed a light shade of red.

"Y-you mean it?" And Shepard nodded her head along with everyone else in the room, both Naruto and Garrus had to pick up there jaws off the floor when the both first saw her and are still trying to keep them in place.

"How can you hide such a beautiful face from the galaxy is beyond me." Naruto smirked making her blush even more.

"Thank you Naruto."

"Are you ready to move out Tali we leave tomorrow." Shepard asked.

"I would like to stay in the hospital one more night to say thank you to everyone who helped me." She smiled and Shepard nodded.

"We will come get you tomorrow then." Tali nodded and continued jumping around for joy and enjoying the touch of everything new on her face that she had never felt before. The others left her to her joyful jumping and since they were the only ones left along with Gaara in the village they decided that they would spend the last night that they had together and have fun as they didn't know when they would be able to relax again if ever but they would at least spend one last night having fun and that's what they did. Shepard for once in a long time didn't have Reapers or mission objectives on her mind, Garrus didn't have the memories of the betrayal he had survived through. Ash didn't have the usual mission or military priorities to deal with, Gaara for once smiled a genuine smile to have new friends and that he no longer had to do thrice-damned paper work and he said as much and was happy that Naruto recovered from his overuse of Kurama's chakra. Naruto, he was happy for the first time since Jiraiya had died, he was smiling happily and the others could tell that this was not a fake smile or a mask to hid behind but it was the true Naruto.

Tsunade had ordered all the Anbu to the front gate during the day to make sure no council members tried anything with Naruto leaving or Gaara for that matter. She was sad to send him off again and this time she knew that there was a chance that he would never come back. Sakura and Shizune were by her side talking aimlessly waiting for the rest of the group to arrive which consisted of Garrus and Naruto who were already twenty minutes late as the Normandy was already there. Shepard had been talking with Tsunade . Kakashi arrived and made sure that he kept well away from Tsunade after Naruto's little prank that he pulled and Kakashi was unable to get a word in edge wise when Tsunade had started yelling at him about it so he got blamed for it and was unable to get Naruto back.

It was this scene that Garrus, Naruto and Kakashi happened upon when they finally arrived. Naruto then walked over to Sakura, Tsunade and Sasuke, looking like he had a few things to say, and wanted to get them off his chest before he left.

"There's a good chance I won't be coming back. I have some serious feelings for Jane, and I want to stay on the Normandy with her. Grandma, I know I said, a long time ago, that I wanted to become Hokage, but dreams do change over the years."

"Naruto..." Sasuke started.

"Give me a minute, Sasuke" He told Uchiha who immediately backed down, "We weren't the best team in the village, Sakura, Sasuke, but you two became like the family I never had. I want you two to defend this village with all you have, and help prepare the nations of our world for the coming of the Reapers. I'm trusting you two with this. Grandma, when it comes time to choose a new Hokage, Sasuke, Sakura or Kakashi would be your best choice."

"That won't be happening," Tsunade told the young sage, "You see, I just got the message from the Tsuchikage, Raikage, and Mizukage. They're calling for a stronger alliance. While Kakashi, Shizune and I handle that, I'm sending a team with you, Naruto. Your team."

"Team 7 rides again, Dobe," Sasuke smiled, "Like it should have been long ago."

"Ok, but you and I do need to talk when we get on ship," Naruto told the Uchiha.

"That went well." Kakashi said.

"Don't I know it" Tsunade sighed as she told Shizune to get back to the Hokage's office and get everything ready for an upcoming meeting of the great nations.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aboard the Normandy Naruto went to his quarters with Sasuke. He actually missed the Normandy in its own little way it was his home. Garrus wanted to speak with him about some things and Shepard had told him that they needed some time before anyone spoke with them and Garrus decided to show Gaara and Sakura around the ship but Miranda had already taken the liberty of doing so and left Garrus alone doing nothing and Garrus alone doing nothing was a dangerous combination. The course of the Normandy was set for Illium for the Justicar and the assassin which Joker wasn't all to pleased about. In the Shinobi's quarters, Naruto and Sasuke looked out the window at the stars when the Uchiha finally spoke up.

"What's on your mind?" Sasuke asked.

"You and Sakura," Naruto replied, "Is anything going on between you two?"

"It has been for a year," the Uchiha told his friend, "After I came back, it took me some time to get back in shape from that beating you gave me. She helped me, and we took that time to talk, a lot. I realized that I have feelings for her, and we started dating."

"Good. Now, what I said back at Konoha's gates is true. I do have feelings for Shepard. Strong ones. Even after we finish this mission, I doubt I'll go back to Konoha."

"You've seen a lot out here, haven't you?"

"More than you can imagine, Teme. Anyway, Kelly will bring you, Sakura and Gaara some datapads to get you up to speed on galactic civilization. Also, Jacob, Garrus and I will get you outfitted with armor and weapons. We can modify the armor to allow for chakra use."

"Let me guess, even though we all look alike, Shepard and her crew can't use charka?"

"Yeah, but they have their own strengths. Their technology is centuries ahead of ours. Combine their technology, with our chakra, and it'll be a deadly combo. The reapers won't stand a chance."

"What are the reapers?"

"According to Jane, they're a machine race that wipes out all galactic civilization every 50 thousand years. They wiped out a race called the Protheans, 50 thousand years ago, and they're coming back soon. Jane is trying to get the galaxy's races to unite to take them on."

"And bringing us Shinobi with abilities that are beyond their own, into the mix."

"We've never seen a reaper, but I know with my complete susano'o, and you with Kurama, we could cut a swath of destruction through most anything."

"Just what I was thinking, Sasuke." Naruto turned to his friend, and the two shinobi bumped fists, "Who'd have thought that we'd save more than just the shinobi world? We're going to wind up saving the whole damn galaxy."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Gaara was one not to be bothered about a whole lot. Hell he didn't really care about anything that ever happened to him in his entire life, he accepted death four years ago and was unphased that he was brought back. What really made him leave was an entire matter all together, and it just wasn't for the massive loads of paper work.

(Flash Back)

Gaara was sitting at his desk in his Kazekage hat not the robe just the hat he thought that it looked funky and that's why he wore it but never admitted it to anyone it was his own little treasure in his own way. So he was sitting at his desk looking through files of paper work wandering if his assistant had brought the new folder for the new district that the council had authorised and it had yet to be found. He sighed as he leant back in his chair and looked over the village from one of the many windows that were in his office. He sighed again as he stood up took of his funky hat and walked out the door. He was immediately surrounded by sand Anbu he was sick and tired of being protected he knew how to handle himself hell he protected the whole village with his sand and they still thought that he needed protection. He walked past his assistant who started ranting in her old age for him to get back in his office and finish the paper work and he just ignored her and walked out the door. Temari and Kankuro were not in the village so he couldn't hang around them hell he needed new friends and when he spoke to Temari she was always about business and Kankuro was always sleeping so even when he was around them he was bored shitless. The only person he felt like he could have fun was a certain blonde ninja from the hidden leaf in fire country. He walked out of the Kazekage building and looked around and had to hide a small smile that graced his face. He loved the hidden sand but he was missing something from when he was a kid that sense of adventure that he use to have, yeah he didn't look like he played when he was younger but he did he use to climb tree's scale the wall surrounding the village he even pulled a prank on his sister once but he never admitted to it and never did it again.

He missed all of that and now he couldn't even leave his office without being followed by Anbu or even his sister it was annoying. He took the Kazekage position to be recognised like Naruto was but it wasn't all it was cut out to be. He was the only Kazekage to have fifteen assassination attempts on his life in the first three hours of position and they were from his own village. When he started everyone feared that the Demon container would destroy the village after gaining a seat in power so what they feared they tried to destroy, it was there nature. He was sick of the attempts on his life, sick of the council riding him about who they should go to war with next, sick of the glares from the citizens of his own village. He had protected them and they still hate him for what his father did to him. So he planned, he had heard that Naruto was on an important mission that was very far away that was what the letter from Tsunade told him in the letter anyway. So he headed for the hidden leaf with an entourage of guards in hoping that he would get a sense of what Naruto's mission would be and go join him as a missing nin better then the assassins that were waiting back in the village. And to his luck Naruto was home for the time being.

(End Flash Back)

Gaara was happy to be out of his village and he hoped that they would chose a powerful successor he had left a note on his desk as a suggestion to Kankuro as his successor but he had no way of knowing who would take his place as the sixth Kazekage. He sighed as he slumped down in the med bay he had been sick as soon as the Normandy had lifted off so Miranda took him to the med bay so Dr Chakwas could give him something for the motion sickness and he would soon get use to it. It was slowly getting better but he had a bucket at his side as he sat up in the bed. He didn't know what to think about Miranda she had been nice to him maybe it was because she didn't know what he had been when he was younger he looked around and didn't see anything interesting just a machine which looked to be only used once and had what looked to be a mask so it must heal a face and a closed door with a red square signalling that it was probably locked. He stood up and got his footing and the movement of the ship didn't bother him so much. He headed for the door and found the Turian playing cards with a red headed woman that he had met at the party Kelly Chambers. He looked over the others aboard the ship before walking around and sitting down next to Garrus.

"Hey buddy still feeling sick?" Garrus asked as he handed Kelley the deck so she could shuffle them.

"Not so much." He replied in his monotone voice.

"Gaara, your quarters are here on the crew deck I think Naruto and you are sharing until more arrangements can be made." Kelley said and Gaara nodded as he watched as the game of cards for a while before giving up on trying to find out what the rules are and went to find Naruto who was in his quarters. Gaara opened the door and Ashley passed by him with a smile on her face and headed for the elevator.

"I see your popular." Gaara smiled at him.

"Heh yeah." Naruto replied as he sat up from his sitting position. "I here that we're all sharing a room for a few days until you get one of your own."

"Apparently so..."

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked as he sat down on one of the leather chairs as he still didn't have a bed in there yet.

"It's just weird, everything is made out of metal or has computers nothing has any essence of life apart from the crew members. It is just different."

"Don't I know it. I felt the same way the first time I got aboard. Some times you feel like your to cramped and next you feel like there is no one that you can find. It's weird like that." Naruto replied as Gaara took the other seat after picking up some data pads from Sakura. "Your going to want to read through them, it's really informative believe it or not." Gaara nodded his head as he started to read. Naruto leaned back on the couch and looked out the window passing the time. It was then that Sasuke entered, carrying a M-96 Mattock, M-6 Carnifex, and M-22 Eviscerator. He looked right at the blonde member of the team, and was about to say something.

"_Naruto, come up on the bridge I have something to talk to you about._" Joker's voice came over the radio.

"On my way Joker." Naruto replied as he walked out the door and left the others to their readings. He entered the elevator with Garrus and they both looked at each other.

"What are you doing?" Garrus asked as he leaned back up against a wall.

"Seeing Joker he said he has something to talk to me about."

"yeah same, what you think it's about?"

"It's Joker he probably needs help getting to the bathroom." Naruto chuckled.

"Or he wants help as he broke another hip or something." Garrus joined in the laughter. It was a weird moment Garrus had wanted to talk to Naruto about what had happened when he first saw the transformation of the Kyuubi but he had no idea how to approach the subject right now so he just left it for the time being, The elevator doors opened and they both stepped out and headed up to the bridge to speak with Joker.

Joker had his back turned to them as they walked up the bridge deck and stopped and looked at each other and both shrugged. Joker's chair turned around and his hands were entwined and he had a look that said I have been thinking about some stuff and I'm about to tell you so shut up and listen. They both raised an eye brow at him or in Garrus case a scale.

"What's the matter Joker."

"Ok I have been thinking."

"That's a shocker." Garrus laughed.

"Shut it. Now were all friends aren't we?" They both nodded there heads. "Well alright, say we actually survive this mission, what next?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Look I've noticed it, Tali has noticed it and hell you have probably noticed it yourself Garrus."

"Noticed what?" Garrus asked.

"Ever since Virmire Shepard has been distant with all of us. You come along, Naruto, and she is back to the way that she was when we first started hell she is probably more open then she has ever been in the time that I have known her." Joker smiled. "I wanted to know what your going to do when the mission is over with, Naruto, hell I want you to stay aboard the ship. You're a good friend and I don't think I will ever meet someone like you again."

"Same here, Naruto, I would trust you with my life and have and will again I just know it." Garrus smiled.

"Thanks guys. I don't want to go back, hell I want to stay on the ship, I have something special with Shepard I don't want it to end." Naruto told them as Joker brought out a few scotch glasses and some blue mixed drink and once again both raised there eyebrows.

"What were stuck here for a few days might as well make the use of it no? That reminds me..." He trailed off as he turned around in his seat and pressed a button. "Ah Commander there has been a slight delay we won't reach Ilium for another two days."

_"What's the matter Joker?"_ Shepard's voice came back.

"Ah engine troubles or something Tali is looking over it right now."

_"Thanks for the update Joker."_ Shepard replied.

"Well that's taken care of." Joker said as he turned back around noticing that the other two had already opened the bottle of alcohol and poured themselves a drink each. "Hey where is mine!" Joker growled.

"Here I only opened this one Garrus brought his own."

"You brought your own?" Joker asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have my own tastes." Garrus replied as he raised his glassed back to his lips.

"Well how about a toast?" Naruto asked.

"To what?" Garrus asked.

"To new friends, relationships, and the end of the galaxy as we know it." Joker smirked.

"I'll toast to that." Garrus and Naruto said in unison making Joker smirk as they clinked glasses. It went into the early hours of the morning of the three drunken singers up on the bridge. Most of the crew were able to get to sleep but there were one or two on the deck below that cursed alcohol for life. So it was the second day of being stranded in the middle of no where and Tali was almost finished with the fixing of the engine after Shepard had convinced her to let Ken and Gabriela help with what she needed to do. She was surprised that when she woke up that morning Naruto was in his boxers and that's it laying in the middle of where the galaxy maps pops up snoring away. Garrus was inside the elevator curled up in a corner with his thumb in his mouth and Joker was asleep in his chair.

"Note to self don't ever let them drink again." She said as she walked past Kelly who giggled at her. She headed for the elevator and headed down to the engineering deck. She went to see Tali who had been working on the engines for the most of the night and almost had it fixed. "What's the problem Tali?" Shepard asked the now mask less Quarian she had to smile at her angelic face as she was now always smiling at everything it must have been hard for the years before hand.

"Ah Shepard, you know those couplings that you picked up on Omega the ship just has to readjust to them. Something on Naruto's planet made them go hay wire, but it is almost fixed and we will be on our way shortly." Tali said with a smile.

"Great work Tali what's your opinion on the mission so far?" Shepard asked as she sat down on the desk where Tali was working.

"Things are great Shepard except for the few Cerberus officers that have made no attempt to get to know me for who I am and the way I look." She growled ever since she had been out of her helmet she had so many advances on her and she had declined all of them but they still all persisted and the one that she had wanted to make an advance hadn't yet she was hoping the blonde would soon. She had to hide her blush as she started going off in her fantasy world of her an Naruto. Shepard noticed that the blush just made her more beautiful.

"Something on your mind Tali?" Shepard asked with a smirk.

"N-no not at all sorry Shepard I should really get back to work yes I have lots of work to finish." She finished too quickly which just made Shepard grinned more as she left the Quarian blushing and let her get back to work.

Naruto woke up when he noticed that there was someone standing over him he rolled onto his back and looked up only to find the shit eating grin of Shepard as she looked down on him. She leaned down next to him and he didn't see what she had in her hands.

"Morning Naruto!" She chimed and he had to hold his head.

"Why are you yelling!" He growled at her he looked to her and she had a passive look in her eye as she slowly grinned making him on edge. "Shepard?" It was too late, she had previously mixed some sticky substances and put it in a squirt bottle and aimed it at him but lucky for Naruto it was to thick to actually pass through the spray part of the bottle so it didnt spray him and he fully laughed at her but stopped as he had to hold his head again. "You don't have anything for a hang over do you?" He pleaded and she sighed as she gave him a small white and red pill.

"Take this it will help." Naruto nodded and downed the pill immediately and stood up.

"That was some fun last night." He sighed as he stretched as he realised that he was only in his boxes and Shepard had to hide her blush at his body. "I'm going down to the showers i'll be back up later."

"Want company?" She grinned at him and he stopped in mid stride before looking back over his shoulder.

"Why would I need company?" He asked grinning back at her.

"I could wash your... back you know that its a really hard place to get." Shepard said as she started walking up to him with a sway in her hips. "And you could wash mine." She whispered in his ear.

"Ah Commander Tali said we are ready to go." Jokers voice interrupted them.

"Get moving then Joker." She said glancing over her shoulder down the bridge.

"Will do Commander." Joker replied as he accelerated the engine and headed for Ilium.

"Maybe another time hey Commander." Naruto grinned as he placed his hand on the low of her back making her shiver at his touch. "Guess you can wash your own back this time." He grinned as he traced little circles on her back as he headed to the elevator leaving her at the doors as they closed and she had to put her hands up to her face to cover her blush.

"Looks like you have some good company there." Kelley said with a giggle as she looked up from her computer.

"Thanks Kelley." Shepard replied and all Kelley did was nod her head.

"Officer Taylor and Officer Lawson both require to see you maybe you could make your way to see them." Shepard nodded her head and went to see them. Jacob first and then Miranda. Jacob had received news that had been long out of date for ten years and Miranda told her about her sister on Ilium and she agreed to help both of them when they had some time to spare. Ilium was fast approaching everyone was back to there normal duties aboard the ship even tho most of the ground crew didn't have duties they usually trained or lounged around in there quarters doing nothing.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gaara had been troubled for the most part of the journey to Ilium he had tried to speak with Naruto on occasions but he was always busy doing something and he only came into the quarters when he was going to bed and sometimes it would be useless to talk to him because as soon as he walked in the door he some how appeared on the couch asleep. So to say Gaara was bored would be an understatement he thought about going to talk to Miranda but he had no idea of what he would say to her sure they had plenty in common from what they learnt from one another at the party at Kiba's but was that enough to start a healthy relationship from. So for the most part of the way there he was by himself contemplating on weather or not he made the right choice in joining Naruto on the mission but was cut out of his musings as Naruto came through the door with a big grin on his face.

"Hey Gaara what are you up too?" Naruto asked still grinning.

"Just thinking." Gaara replied after he looked up from his data pad that he had been reading. Naruto slowly approached and looked like he wanted to say something. "You want to say something?" He continued.

"I need your help with something." He continued to smile.

"With?"

"NARUTO!" Shepard's voice could be heard.

"I see, what did you do this time?" Gaara said with a smile.

"I just need you to hang onto this bag ok. Ok sweet." He said pushing the bag that he pulled from no where into Gaaras hands before he could even register what was going on. Shepard burst through the door blushing madly and Gaara wasn't sure why until he looked in the bag and he went pale. The bag was filled with underwear bra's and panties. He was slightly freaking out.

"Where are they!" She growled.

"I have no idea what your talking about, do you Gaara?" He asked as he glanced at Gaara and could see that he was starting his freak out. "Gaara!" He hissed. Gaara snapped his head up and looked to Naruto.

"Huh?"

"Do you know what Shepard is talking about?"

"Ah no not at all sorry Commander." He lied through his teeth.

"Why bring him into this I know you did it!" Shepard shouted at the blonde. "Give them back!"

"What's going on in here!" Ash shouted as she walked in the room followed by a grinning Garrus who smirked at Naruto and Naruto smirked back at him.

"See you two are planning something now Naruto give them back!" Shepard continued to shout as she saw the two smirking at one another.

"I think I should be running now!" Gaara said as he dropped the bag and slipped past the entourage that had now made there way into the room. Shepard hadn't even noticed that some of the contents of the bag had fallen out but Garrus was trying to hold in the laughter that was threatening to burst out at any moment.

"What did he take Shepard?" Ash asked and Shepard whispered something in her ear and she had to giggle slightly but stopped when she saw the gaze that Shepard gave her and she looked somewhere else and it just so happened that it had landed on the bag that Gaara had dropped when he had left the room. "Ah Shepard look over there." Ash pointed to the bag and Naruto went pale white. He was screwed. Shepard headed for the bag but something in Naruto jumped at her and tackled her to the ground by now Garrus was pissing himself laughing as he left the room as he had no intention of getting into the current mess that was on, Ash followed Garrus just to make sure that he wasn't going to try anything like what Naruto had pulled. By now Shepard had gotten Naruto under her, her hands had pushed his shoulders down and keeping him down, she was on all fours over him his knee resting in an upward position between her legs which was rubbing up against her nether region which had no panties on which she was currently grinding herself on which to her felt great.

"Naruto." She moaned out. "W-why do you h-have to prank me s-soo much." She said through her moaning. Naruto grinned up at her he could feel that she was almost there and could feel the wetness seeping through her pants and it was turning him on immensely. Her hands put less strain on his shoulders as they moved to his chest as she lowered herself down his knee all the while still grinding in small motions as she did so making her tremble even more. She leaned her face down to Naruto's and kissed him and he kissed her back and flipped her over so that she was on the bottom the bag of bra's and panties totally forgotten.

"If I didn't prank you, I would have never gotten to know you so well." He whispered in her ear as he pulled away from the kiss making her shudder underneath him. He kissed her again and this time she inserted her tongue into his mouth and he did the same. They both fought for dominance but Naruto ended up winning as he was already on top.

"Have I ever told you that your a great kisser?" She smiled at him.

"Well there is a first time for everything." He grinned back.

"It won't be the last." She said as she kissed him again with more force she moved her hands up around the back of his neck as she started grinding her pelvis against his. He grinned through the kiss and she had to blush her body was doing it over instinct but that didn't mean that she didn't want it herself but she was meant to be angry at him for some reason right? She didn't care his tongue dancing on her own was just to god damn good to resist as she thrust up against him again and this time was met with one of his own which made her gasp at his size she hadn't even thought about it until it hit her but she didn't have long to think about it has her body went through an amazing orgasm and he had yet to even get her naked or make and full contact with her nether regions and she was still gushing as she came again and again under Naruto who just kept kissing her as she moaned into his mouth as each orgasm hit.

"Worth it." He grinned and was lightly punched in the shoulder from the woman underneath him.

"Jesus Christ Naruto, all over the floor." She pouted up to him which he found completely and utterly irresistible as he leant down to kiss her again. "Can I please have my underwear back?" She continued her pout.

"If."

"If what?" She said as she gasped as he trailed her neck with butterfly kisses.

"If we can continue this at a later date." He smiled down at her and she smiled back up at him.

_"Ah Commander where coming into Ilium."_ Joker's voice

_"Bow chicka wow wow."_ Garrus could be heard next to Joker then there was a sound of someone being slapped up the back of the head. _"Dammit Ash come on it was totally funny!"_ Shepard sighed as she leaned into Naruto's chest.

"I was hoping for a bit more time together before we start back up again."

"Don't worry about it we have plenty of time to spend together once this thing is over and done with." Naruto smiled back at her. "I promise you that we will have time together." Shepard smiled at him and kissed his cheek as he rolled off of her.

"Do you have a towel in here?" She blushed as she asked Naruto through her a towel and the bag of underwear and she left and headed for the shower rooms that were on this floor Naruto frowned as he thought of the promise he just made. Was he going to be able to keep it?

XXXXXXXXXX

Ilium just a bigger, fancier Omega in Garrus words, Gaara had been fitted with sandy brown military armor before he left the ship and a sub machine gun along with a sniper rifle the same as Naruto had. They had just gotten off the Normandy when an Asari approached them with two mechs at her side.

"Greetings Commander Shepard, your docking fear has been paid and I would like to welcome you to Ilium." The Asari greeted. Shepard watched the mechs closely as she replied to the Asari.

"Who paid the fee?" She asked.

"Liara T'Soni, she has requested that you go and see her." The Asari continued to smile as she spoke. Shepard nodded her head and the group past and headed through the docking station and came to look upon Ilium for the first time. The city was beautiful with the sun constantly in a setting motion or was what it was when they looked over the city. Gaara was amazed this was amazing to him, he had no idea that a city could be so big. Naruto and Garrus walked over to the railing and leaned over and looked down.

"Long way down." Garrus said.

"Do it you won't." Naruto smirked at him and they both laughed as Shepard was approached by an Asari that looked a little slow in the head.

"You are Shepard." The Asari said.

"Yes I am do I know you?"

"We are Rachni, you spared my life two years ago on Noveria." Shepard's eyes flew open as she realised what the Asari just told her.

"No way. Hey Garrus remember that Rachni queen."

"yeah what about it?" Garrus asked.

"This is her well I think it's controlling the Asari is that right?"

"Yes." The Asari stated. "I wish to compensate you for what you did for my race all those years ago."

"There is no need, just don't go starting any more wars." Shepard grinned and the Asari smiled and walked away. "That was weird."

"Tell me about it and Wrex wanted you to kill it. Seems nice enough." Garrus smiled as they walked into the Market district.

"Commander Shepard, holy crap it's you." A woman in a blue dress said from a table and beckoned Shepard over. "It is you, they said you were dead."

"And I believe that you said you ow me a beer am I wrong Ms Gianna Parasini ?" Shepard replied with a smile as she sat down at the table with the woman she had helped back on Noveria in her investigation.

"No your right but I'm actually in the middle of something at the moment." Gianna told the Commander who raised her eyebrow.

"Anything you need help with?" She asked and listened as Gianna told her about the weapons that were being sold here on Ilium that had been taken from Noveria. "Every time I run into you I end up doing your job." Shepard grinned at her.

"If you keep it up I'm going to be out of work." Gianna smirked back at her as Shepard walked away. The group stayed at the table and looked around as Shepard approached a stall and started talking with an Asari before signalling for Gianna to come and talk with them. Gianna smiled to the group and walked over to Shepard.

"What's happening?" Gaara asked.

"Gianna is a undercover agent who worked on Noveria we travelled there in our mission to stop Saren, anyway we needed a pass to get out onto the surface of the planet and Gianna had offered us a way of getting one." Gaara nodded his head while Naruto was looking around.

"What is it?" Gaara asked gesturing to Naruto.

"There has to be a ramen stand here somewhere!" He growled out and Garrus grinned.

"There is one on the citadel, i'll talk to the commander about heading there next." Naruto nodded his head and sat down at the table where Gianna had been seated and waited for Shepard to come back and she did so with Gianna at her side with a grin on her face.

"So how about that beer?" Gianna smiled.

"Maybe another time Gianna, I have some stuff to get done while I'm here on Ilium and I would rather get it done sooner then later, you know." Shepard replied and Gianna nodded at her reasoning nobody who wasn't an Asari or a criminal wanted to stay on Ilium long unless they wanted to get into something Illegal and nobody wanted that now did they?

They had been walking around for about fifteen minutes going through the stores trying to find better equipment and armour and they even got some food for Rupert the Normandy's chef when Joker patched into Shepard's radio.

_"Ahh Commander be on the look out for Tali she had a fight with Jacob and left the ship, i'd send someone to go get her but we only have Cerberus and that wouldn't work out to well or we have people who wouldn't take orders from me and try to break every bone in my body. so send someone to go find her and calm her down before things get to out of hand would you."_ Joker said over the radio.

"yeah alright Joker will do." Shepard sighed. "Naruto want to go get Tali she should be heading this way, we will meet up with you later ok." Naruto nodded his head and walked away from the group.

"Was it really best sending Naruto off on his own Commander?" Garrus asked.

"What he isn't a child he knows how to take care of himself."

"Not what I meant Commander." Garrus replied with a smirk as the now made trio headed for Liara's office.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto had headed off on his own back towards the ship and found who he was looking for surrounded by humans trying to hit on her.

"Just leave me alone!" She told them harshly but they didnt care she just wanted to get away from them.

"Come on babe how about me and the boys take you some where and show you a real good time?" One of the men laughed at the Quarian and before anyone even knew it he was falling down off the side of one of the buildings that were high up in the air.

"What the hell!" One of the other men shouted before he was punched in the throat and he had to grip it as it had fully gone out of whack and he was slowly suffocating.

"Who are you!" Another shouted at the blonde only to meet sapphire blue eyes before he was sent into the building fifteen feet behind him from a kick to the chest.

"You ok Tali?" Naruto asked as Tali looked to him.

"yeah thanks for that Naruto you really saved me from these bosh'tets."

"It's not a problem Tali, I mean were friends right." He smiled at her and she blushed and had to remember to cover her face as he skin went a radiant red when she blushed making her even more beautiful. "What happened between you and Jacob on the ship?"

"Oh that it was just a little tiff." She smiled at him while waving her hands in front of her.

"Well since we have some time to kill let's go exploring shall we." He said as he gestured for her to take his hand and she blushed madly as she did so.

_"Keelah!"_ They walked through the shop of Ilium into a bar entrance and headed through and they were approached by an Asari.

"Hey you two if you go in there watch yourself, there is a guy armed to the teeth shouting and ordering people around, the officials are on there way."

"Thanks for the warning." Tali thanked her as they walked into the bar and noticed who she had been talking about. "Hey wait, I know that man."

"You do?"

"yeah he always use to talk to Shepard when she was on the citadel and he made the mistake of approaching her after Virmire, he approached her about being a Spectre and she snapped at him pulled a gun aimed it at his head and said that this was what she faced everyday, and he broke down in tears and it looks like he is wearing a replica of her armor that she use to wear just a male version of it."

"So do you want to do something about it?" Tali nodded her head.

"Better we do something then Shepard. hell he probably will get shot this time around."

"Who said he won't get shot." Naruto grinned. They walked up to the bar where the guy was yelling about how he should be getting free drinks when Naruto tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and took a step back.

"Who are you!" He ordered.

"Conrad Verner." Tali stated. "Why do you have a replica of Shepard's armor?"

"What? You know Shepard I heard she died." Conrad said as he looked at the Quarian and his jaw dropped.

"I suggest you take your eyes off her before they get shut. Permanently!" Naruto growled. Conrad back up. "Why are you causing trouble for this establishment!" Naruto growled again.

"I'm not making trouble they are! I'm out here trying to serve the galaxy and they won't even give me a free glass!"

"Your trying to save the galaxy? What about your wife?" Tali asked.

"She totally supports my idea she even gave me the credits to get me off the citadel, and I have done it all, rescued people, stopped slavers, I even go around looking through crates for credits!" He chimed. Naruto sighed this was a want to be hero.

"Conrad, it is Conrad isn't it?" Conrad nodded his head. "Look you may think your doing good here but your not your affecting the peace that this establishment has."

"I am doing good damn you! I've faced more then anyone in my travels!" He shouted and Naruto got sick of it and aimed at his foot and fired. "Ahh!"

"You shot him!" Tali shouted surprised and a little excited.

"I would have shot him in the head." The Bartender said.

"Can my day get any worse!" Conrad hissed as his foot was bleeding.

"Nope, no matter how bad it may seem, they can't be any better, and it can't be any worse, because that's the way things fucking are, and you better get used to it, Nancy. Quit yeah bitching. Now go on and limp out of here head back to the citadel and go back to your wife if she will even take you!" Naruto growled at him and he slowly limped away.

"That was unexpected." Tali smiled at him. "Thanks again Naruto, ever since the mask has come off everyone has just been giving me looks, and I'm getting sick of it." She sighed.

"It's because your beautiful Tali." Naruto complemented making her go bright red. "I mean it." He smiled at her and if it wasn't for some commotion between an Asari and another Quarian she probably would have fainted.

"Oh no." Tali started as she looked over to the two arguing. "Dammit."

"What's wrong?"

"That Quarian is a slave. And the Asari is trying to sell her, my people have always been treated with disrespect as we created the geth but that was centuries ago." She said as a tear fell down her cheeks from her eyes.

"I'll settle it Tali don't worry ok." Tali looked up to him and those eyes warmed her.

"Than you Naruto." She smiled as he walked over to the two as she sat at the bar.

"Nice boy friend you have there."

"Keelah! He isn't my boyfriend!" She hissed to the Asari behind her.

"Well then you don't mind if I have a crack at him do you?" She smiled and Tali got angry and the Asari just smiled back at her. "I'm kidding Darl lighten up, if you do he will begin to notice you like him." She continued to smile at the young Quarian.

"Are you sure? I mean he has a thing with another member of our crew." She sighed.

"Did you ever think that she or him might like sharing?" The Asari smiled at her and she went bright once again as she turned back to look at Naruto who was standing next to the Quarian who was being sold she could tell by the way the Quarian was standing that she was happy and relieved that someone was helping her and it looked to be going in her favour. She watched as the Quarian hugged him and he smiled at her while he scratched the back of his head. The Asari gave the Quarian some credits and walked off and made a remark about never doing business with a human again if she only knew he wasn't human. Naruto bid the Quarian farewell and walked back over to Tali and sat down next to her.

"Things are going to be better for her now." He smiled at her and she blushed once again.

"Thank you again Naruto I hate when we get turned into slaves." She sighed and stood up. "Let's go find Shepard shall we?" Naruto nodded and followed the Quarian and Tali tuned back to the bartender who winked at her and she blushed once more and rushed out of the room with Naruto right behind her completely oblivious. They headed for Liara's office and walked in on Liara telling Shepard about Thane Kreos.

"So Shepard how goes the search?" Naruto asked as he walked in.

"We have our leads, Gaara Tali your with me when we get to the transport hub were going after the Justicar, Garrus, Naruto, you and Sasuke, going after the Assassin he is in the two towers located here." Shepard said pointing to a map that was spread out in front of her at the moment and they both nodded there heads.

"Yes we get the Assassin." Garrus cheered.

"Why are you happy about that?" Tali asked.

"More of a challenge I reckon." Naruto answered for him and Garrus nodded his head. "Were going to have to be real sneaky take this out fucking special ops style." Naruto grinned and Garrus smirked back at him.

"I wouldn't have it any other way buddy." Garrus continued to smirk as the two groups headed for the transport hub and went there separate ways.

"Hey, Sasuke, get over here quickly," Naruto called into his omnitool, "We're going after an assassin."

"Sounds like fun," came the Uchiha's voice.

XXXXXXXXXX

With Shepard, Gaara and Tali they had just arrived at the police station and had started to speak with the officer in charge of the investigation about the murder that had been recently committed just a few blocks down from here. They were given access to enter the restricted area and that's where they were heading at the present moment. Gaara was confused about how the police had shown fear to a Justicar but just summed it up of a Justicar being a high level officer or something. They passed several patrols of the eclipse mercs and took them down even to it was inside a crime scene which Tali commented on Shepard just shrugged her shoulders and moved ahead while Tali fought with herself on whether to ask Shepard if she would share Naruto or not. The doors to a cargo room opened and an Asari eclipse was thrown past them Gaara was the only one to not show surprise as he didnt even think twice about it before raising his gun up to where two more Asari were. One was in a red revealing outfit and was standing over another one.

"What ship did she leave on, you tell me this and your life will be spared." The Justicar said.

"Spare me, if she found out I wouldn't even be able to get far enough away before she came after me!" The Asari underfoot yelled at the Justicar. A blue light shined around the Justicar as the eclipse merc was lifted and thrown through a glass wall and several crates and landed on the floor and the Justicar lifted herself up with her biotic powers and landed a few feet from her and walked over to her placed her foot on the mercs neck.

"Find peace in the embrace of the goddess." And with a twist of her ankle she snapped the mercs neck killing her instantly.

"Samara?" Shepard started and the Justicar looked over her shoulder at the commander.

"Greetings, my name is Samara I am a Justicar."

"Justicar!" The head officer called out as she ran into the room and looked around at the carnage. "What the hell happened in here Shepard?"

"They refused to give me my information there for I killed them as they were unjust."

"Unjust?" Gaara asked.

"They refused to help a warrior of Justice." Samara said as she turned to him and he nodded his head.

"I hate to do this Justicar but I have to apprehend you." The officer said and Samara looked at her and nodded her head.

"My code makes me be apprehended for twenty four hours but after that I must leave this place. Shepard maybe we can help each other, if you can find the ship that the Eclipse mercs smuggled off world I will help you in what ever it is you came here to see me for." Shepard nodded her head and left as she went back to the Vollas who she had talked to before they went into the restricted area and had offered her credits to find him some data pads. He gave Shepard a pass so that they could get inside the merc base and they immediately headed off to find the docking records. It wasn't that hard to find they just had the follow the lines of guards and they were there thought the red sand that had been delivered in secret even Ilium had rules and red sand was completely illegal no exceptions. In the record room was the leader of the Eclipse mercs and she was a powerful biotic as she proved with the self pre claimed god of biotics the Vollas who they had met outside and had charged in and probably used his most powerful biotic attack only for the leader of the eclipse to just swat it away like it was nothing. So the attack started and red sand was spilt everywhere making it difficult to see where they were shooting but they managed to pull through somehow and get the data back to the Justicar who was happy that she didnt have to kill the police officer in the meantime of trying to escape the station. This was when things got complicated.

"Alright let's head back to the ship and wait for Naruto and Garrus." Shepard said and the others agreed but before they headed off they could hear explosions off in the distance and they all thought what the hell did they do now?

XXXXXXXXXX

With Naruto, Sasuke and Garrus twenty minutes earlier things were going well they had made it inside the building with not a lot of difficulties mostly mechs and they healed a Salarian who had then given them information and they fought there way up and were now at a bridge, they helped two groups of Salarian's and kicked a dude out a window with a 'This Is Sparta Kick' on the floor below now all 3 had there rifles out and were looking across the bridge through their own scopes. They could see several guards and some turrets high above the bridges and some snipers they were lucky that none of the people below had noticed them yet.

"So what's the plan?" Garrus asked and Naruto grinned at him.

"Ok so here it is we go across the bridge and somehow manage to take them all out while avoiding the turrets the guards and not getting shot." He grinned and Garrus almost face faulted as he heard the great plan he was just stating the obvious.

"So what your saying is that we wing it?"

"That's how we usually did it back in Konoha." Naruto grinned as he jumped down and planted a kunai into a mercs head that was underneath him and kicked another one off the side of the bridge. "Time to rock the house!" He called out to Garrus who started laughing and jumped down next to him and they both ran forward. Both had there weapons sheathed as they ran into the barrage of enemies there were too many at the front for the ones at the back to even consider firing at so they were reality safe for the time being as they charged forhead and started kicking and punching. Naruto charged up a rasangean after he had summoned a clone and then after it was done he called out another clone who started to help the first one making his most praised move. Garrus looked at Naruto who was charging his attack and saw the blades of wind surround the ball and spread out.

"Garrus get down!" Naruto called out with a shit eating grin on his face and as Garrus hit the deck Naruto through the Rasenshuriken and it cut all the mercs and guards that were on the deck and

they all fell to pieces littering the bridge in blood and limbs.

"Holy Shit! That was awesome! Man my blood is pumping that was an awesome attack!" Garrus started shouting before a bullet landed between there feet and they hid between an arch way one on either side. "Snipers!"

"I can see that!" Naruto grinned, but after hearing 3 rounds fired off, and the snipers fire ceasing, he noticed Sasuke with a sniper rifle, and his sharingan active. "Good one, Teme." He said as he created a couple of shadow clones. "Ok now I just have to set these tags and were good to go." He smiled.

"What tags?"

"Explosive tags." He grinned and Garrus grinned back at him when they ran to the other side of the bridge and entered the room where the Assassins mark was, she was surrounded by her guards and both of them had no idea where the assassin was so they just waited and listen to what the Asari had to say. It wasn't long before there were noised in the air ducts above and a green skinned man fell from the ducts and took the guards out one by one as the Asari had no idea what was going on before she turned around and a gun was set at her stomach and the single shot that was set killed her instantly and the Drell laid her down on the desk that she was standing in front of. The Drell finished his pray and looked up at the two who were silently watching him.

"I have been watching you since you entered the tower after me, I was wandering how far you would go to meet with me." He said his voice dry.

"Were here to recruit you." Garrus said.

"yeah Shepard said that you had been contacted by the Illusive man so are you coming with us cause this place is about to go up in flames." And just as he finished the bridge had started to blow.

"I guess I have no choice now do I?" Thane smiled as they all ran at the window behind the desk where the Asari was now laying dead and shot at the window making it smash as they ran through it and slid down the wall and were able to jump off onto a car that was passing by.

XXXXXXXXXX

"What the hell did you two do!" Shepard yelled at them.

"Nothing." They both whined at her.

"That explosion wasn't Nothing!" She continued to rant at them as she leaned back in her chair as she looked to Thane. "You had no part in this I guess?" Thane shook his head.

"I will retire to my quarters then." Thane said and the Commander nodded and he left.

"yeah it's getting late I guess we should go too." Naruto said as they both headed for the door only for it to close and lock them in.

"Not so fast, Garrus you can go but Naruto there is something I must discuss with you." Garrus nodded and left the room leaving a smirking Shepard and a scared Naruto in the briefing room. "Why are you trembling Naruto?" She said with innocence in her voice.

"Who me, i'm not trembling just a little chilli in her is all." He smiled.

"Well maybe we can follow up on what we were doing before we hit Ilium." She smiled at him as she walked forward and rested her breasts up against his chest.

"I thought I gave you your underwear back." He smirked as he felt her nipples harden underneath her shirt and she blushed.

"Doesn't mean I have to wear them now does it." She smirked as she headed for the door. "Naruto move your stuff up to my room let Gaara, Sakura and Sasuke have the observation deck." And she left after Naruto nodded his head and headed down to get his stuff.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Joker and Garrus held there breath as Naruto sat in the seat which Joker usually occupies.

"All right Naruto... take it easy." Garrus said with slight worry in his voice. "This is your first time."

"So many buttons..."

"Don't touch anything!" Joker demanded. "Now EDI set up a virtual course so Naruto can fly through it." The little blue sphere popped up.

"_Of course Mr Muroe." _On the screen before Naruto came up a map with checkpoints on it.

"All right Naruto... don't crash and kill us all." Garrus said with a slight smirk before it dropped and both of them fell to the floor as Naruto took off.

Everyone in the Normandy jolted with the ship as Naruto took it through it's paces. Joker had been teaching Naruto everything for a week and he had already been getting a hang of the way Joker manoeuvred the ship just by watching. Naruto laughed as he passed through another checkpoint before sending the ship into a barrel roll and flying through another before turning and flying down and going through another.

"How we doing EDI?" Naruto asked.

"_You are doing very well Mr Namikaze."_

"Just call me Naruto." He said before sending the ship onto a straight course and flying through the last check point and bringing the ship back to a steady pace. "That was awesome!"

"Never again..." Garrus groaned as he stood up helping Joker up.

"That was incredible flying Naruto, but it is best to warn someone before you do that type of manoeuvring." Joker said and Naruto smiled sheepishly before rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry."

"Now get out of my seat before I break a hip." Naruto stood up and Joker sat back down. "Oh sweet leather how I have missed you so!"

"Joker are you ok? You know your talking to a chair right?" Garrus asked and Joker shot a glare at him. "Alright sorry, sorry. So Naruto you and Shepard bunking together how's that going?"

"It's fine." Naruto said as they started to walk away from the still glaring Joker. "And we are just sleeping."

"Sounds boring." Garrus smirked before Naruto hit him in the arm. "Sorry. I'm glad that she is smiling as much as she does lately. You brought hope to her again Naruto." Garrus said, he realised Naruto wasn't walking beside him and he looked back to see Naruto crouched down holding his knee's to his chest and rocking back and forth. "Naruto?"

"You put a lot of pressure on me Garrus!" Naruto shouted before both of them started laughing and continued to walk towards the elevator.

"Where is Shepard at the moment?"

"Meeting with the top dog."

"Illusive man?" Naruto nodded his head.

"Something about a Turian ship bringing down a Collector vessel." Garrus nodded and entered the elevator. "So I wouldn't be surprised if we are off vacation and have to get back to work."

"That sucks." Naruto nodded and leaned up against the other side of the elevator.

"_Garrus Naruto gear up and meet me at the shuttle were going out."_

"Fun's over." Both said as the door opened and both went and got geared up. Shepard met them at the shuttle and rushed them in quickly and the shuttle took off and headed for the collectors vessel.

"So how's the top dog?" Garrus asked.

"Stupid dick... this is nothing but a trap." Shepard growled.

"Yay a trap!"

"That's a trap for us not for them Garrus." Shepard told him.

"Oh..." Naruto laughed and slapped Garrus in the back. The shuttle entered the Collector's vessel and landed.

"Alright this is enemy territory, watch each other's back and keep on your toes there is no telling what goes on in here." Both nodded and put there helmets on and made sure that they were secured properly before heading out. They made a defence formation around the outside of the shuttle to make sure the area was clear before moving on.

"_Commander, I will set a destination for you. There is a terminal further in. You may be able to find out about the collector's base."_ EDI said over the radio.

"Thanks EDI." The group headed into the ship more and came across countless bodies of humans and empty pods. They rounded another corner and found a terminal with a set of pods around it with collectors in them.

"Were they running tests on themselves?" Garrus asked. Naruto walked over to one of the pods and peered in side. "Ugly fuckers aren't they."

"Yeah... how long have they been dead for?" Naruto asked as Shepard walked up to the terminal and uploaded EDI to the system.

"_I am sorry Commander I was unable to find anything other then what went on here."_ EDI said appearing before the monitor. _"It appears that they were running compatibility tests with themselves and humans."_

"They want to see if we have anything in common?"

"_It appears so, there is also something else you might find interesting. A single cell in the Collector's gene pool."_

"What is it?"

"_It is Prothean, the Collector's originated from the Prothean's."_

"Impossible!" Garrus said in shock.

"It could be very well true Garrus. The Reapers wiped out every single Prothean from existence but that would be impossible, there may have been a few survivors and the Reapers may have enslaved some. There is nothing but meat, bones and cybernetics here. There is no free will. The Reapers enslaved the Prothean's and this was there outcome."

"Am I missing something here?" Naruto asked as he stood there trying to figure out what they were talking about.

"_I also found something more interesting." _EDI spoke up again.

"What?"

"_I had EDI run a scan over the shinobi's DNA, it turns out that it is a seventy seven percent match between the shinobi and humanity. The difference is that the shinobi genetic code also has Prothean genes, mixed in with human DNA. Commander."_ Joker told her.

"Could the shinobi have met the protheans years earlier in their development?" Shepard inquired.

"I don't know, but hang on." Naruto said, then thought, "_Kurama?_"

"**What is it, Kid?**"

"_You're thousands of years old, right? Could the Juubi have been related to the Protheans, or the Reapers?_"

"**The sage did mention someone who helped him develop ninjutsu, Naruto. He said that this person was a spirit, or a god. I forget which. I'm not entirely sure, but it could have been a prothean. It helped him develop the chakra system, and thus ninjutsu**."

"I think I may have something," Naruto told Shepard and Garrus, and then relayed the information from the fox to his comrades.

"So, the protheans helped your 'Sage of Six Paths' develop the chakra system" Shepard thought out loud, "So that means they may have thought you could help defeat the reapers in the next cycle.."

"I think so." Naruto mumbled before walking on ahead. "Lets go."

"Oh is Mr Prothean grumpy?" Garrus chuckled.

"How about you shut up or I go tell a certain red head your feelings!" Naruto growled. Garrus stumbled while Shepard looked at him oddly.

"You like Gaara, Garrus?" She asked making Naruto burst into laughter and Garrus took a swing at him.

"It's not Gaara! It's a girl!" Garrus shouted at her making Shepard grin.

"Oh so who is it?"

"We don't have time for this!" Garrus shouted again.

"Well Mr, we are going to have to have a long talk about this girl you like." Shepard said with a hidden smirk and hands on hips. "Now lets keep moving." Both the blonde and the Turain nodded and continued on walking.

"_Commander on a hunch I had EDI run a test on the ship, this was the same one that attacked the Normandy two years ago."_

"The same ship tracking me for two years? This can't be a coincidence." Shepard said. "Everyone keep on your guard." The group nodded and continued on walking and walked into a large room with millions of empty pods.

"Oh dear lord..." Naruto said in awe at the size of the chamber.

"It's like a hive in here." Garrus said.

"This is to many pods... there going to hit Earth!"

"We won't let it come to that." Naruto told her and she smiled back at him.

"Thanks Naruto." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and continued on walking.

"Commander there's the terminal." Garrus said as he pointed to a weird platform looking thing.

"Alright lets get what we need and get the hell out of here... Naruto are you ok?" Shepard asked as she looked to the blonde. He was leaning against a wall with a hand holding his head.

"Y-Yeah just fine... just got a bit dizzy there for a second." Naruto said standing back up. "Lets keep going." Shepard eyed him for a moment before nodding her head and walking up to the platform.

"EDI find everything you can while your in there."

"_Of course Commander."_ EDI appeared on the screen and started to go through the systems. Garrus kept his rifle to the ready and so did Shepard, Naruto on the other hand was having a hard time breathing. He held his head as a another headache started and then looked up as they heard a shot.

"EDI you better hurry!" Garrus shouted as he took cover.

"_I am going as fast as I can."_ EDI responded. Shepard started to shoot and Naruto followed suit as he took cover. More of the platforms started to fly around them.

"This can't be good..." Naruto said as another headache ensued. EDI appeared again after five minutes in the fire fight.

"_I am done."_

"About time!" Garrus shouted as he jumped off the platform and Shepard took the files from EDI and headed after Garrus. "Naruto move your ass!"

"I'm coming I'm coming." Naruto mumbled as he ran after them. They had to fight hordes of enemies that kept coming after them.

"Where the hell were they ten minutes ago when we were running through here!" Shepard growled as she took down another collector.

"Who cares lets just get back to the shuttle before the ship comes on line." Naruto and Shepard nodded and Shepard took the lead. Naruto was in the back looking over his shoulder from time to time to see if anyone was coming up behind him. He looked over his shoulder again only to crash into a wall.

"Naruto can you hear us!" Garrus shouted. A door had closed just before Naruto had got through.

"Yeah what the hell happened?" Naruto called out.

"Door closed, we can't get it open EDI said that there is another way, head to your left and follow the corridor!" Shepard called out and Naruto nodded before he took off. He rounded a corner and drew his pistol as he shot a Collector in the head before jumping and throwing two kunai killing another. Naruto is then blown back into a column and knocked out cold.

Collectors and Husks slowly and cautiously hobbled up and started to surround the blonde warrior. At the same time, inside the seal, Kurama awoke. Seeing the situation, he made the decision to act.

"_**Can't let you die, kid. Let me handle this**_."

X-X

"Do you think he is ok Commander?" Garrus asked as he checked around a corner to show that there was no one there. "I mean he wasn't looking so good before."

"He will be fine. Keep your mind on track Garrus." Garrus nodded and missed the look of concern on the Commander's face. She was indeed worried about him, since they got separated.. They rounded another corner and continued on with guns ready to fire at a moments notice. Garrus almost dropped his gun when he saw Naruto laying on the ground.

"Naruto!" They both shouted. The blonde didn't move as they ran to him. Behind the blonde was over a dozen dead Collector's. Shepard ran full pelt at him and slid on her knees as she stopped next to him and brought him up to her in a hug.

"Commander we need to get out of here now! Here give him here I will take him!" Garrus picked Naruto up and slung him over his shoulder and helped Shepard up.

"We need to move." Garrus nodded and both took off at a run, Garrus with his pistol and Shepard with her rifle at the ready. Shepard took the lead and shot down three collector's as the shuttle came into view. "Get him aboard!" Garrus ran for the shuttle and got inside with Naruto and set him down and Shepard came in moments later and the shuttle took off. Garrus removed his helmet and Shepard did the same. She pulled Naruto's helmet off and could see the veins in his neck were starting to show a lot more then they should and were highly visible.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Dr Chakwas will take a look at him. Send a transmission saying to prep a bed for him." Garrus nodded and went to the driver while Shepard cradled Naruto's head in her lap. _"Don't you dare die on me Naruto. I don't want to lose anyone else, not again!"_ Tears fell from her eyes as she held Naruto closer.

X-X

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and had to close them again when he saw nothing but white. His head was in agonising pain and there was no one in the room. It took him a moment to remember where he was and when he remembered he laid back in the hospital bed.

"_What happened? I remember fighting some collector's and then I collapsed... Jane and Garrus must have found me." _He concluded. The door slid open and Dr Chakwas and Sakura walked in. "What's the diagnosis doc?" Dr Chakwas chuckled as the joke and sat at her desk.

"You were knocked unconscious by a blast from a collector. We had to come all the way to the citadel for medical treatment, I had no idea what was wrong and we even had Mordin take a look with no success." Naruto nodded his head. "What happened out there Naruto?"

"I'm not exactly sure." He told her honestly. "When we started the mission I was fine but I got knocked back and hit my head on that column." Dr Chakwas nodded her head.

"By rights you should be fine, probably just a simple concussion, but I don't want you going out for a while. You are confined to the ship." Naruto was about to protest when she glared at him. "Doctors orders."

"Alright." He mumbled. "So we are docked at the citadel?" Chakwas nodded her head. "Can I at least go out here? It's not like I am bound to get shot here."

"That's the Commander's call. But if she says yes then I will allow it, you are in no immediate danger here." Naruto nodded and stood up and reached for his clothes. The door slid open and revealed Gaara and Sasuke.

"Hey Guys! What's up?" Naruto asked as he proceeded to get dressed.

"We need to talk." Naruto nodded and followed the red head out of the medical bay and into the elevator. Gaara was quite all the way to the observation deck that he had occupied. "Take a seat." Naruto sat on one of the leather couches and Gaara took one on the opposite couch. Naruto sat quietly as did Gaara for a full five minutes before Gaara spoke. "You haven't told them?"

"Not yet."

"Naruto..."

"Seriously it's one day of the year it happens every year, no point in celebrating when there are more important thins to think about." Naruto told him.

"Well I still think you should tell someone, We only know it," Sasuke noted

"We can tell them later. For now..." Naruto then fell asleep on the sofa.

"Naruto? What's wrong?" Gaara asked as he walked over to his friend. Naruto had his head down as he was holding both sides of his head. "Naruto?" Naruto's head shot right up and looked into Gaara's eyes with red slitted eyes making Gaara take a step back.

"**It's just me,****"** Kurama said, "**Don't worry. Naruto just overexerted himself over the last few missions and needed the rest. When he got knocked out on the collector ship, I had to take over to ensure he survived**." Gaara and Sasuke nodded . **"Listen to me, and I'll tell you a few things that you may now know about this knucklehead and the last 2 years."** The fox ordered and the two ninja did what they were asked.

"What's going on Kurama?" Gaara asked slightly worried.

"**The kid has been seriously overdoing it in every battle he's faced since the war. What with Konoha sending hunters after him, he hasn't slept well, at least until he got onto this ship. Add onto that, the stress of battle, and added stress of Konoha's council, and other bullshit from the village, and you can see how he's in the shape he's in," **Kurama continued to explain ,**"That kid's become the closest thing I've had to a friend, and for a Biiju, that's saying something."**

"Just what are you trying to say, Kurama?" Sasuke asked.

**"During the war, he was trying to do it all himself, Sasuke. Until he got some advice from, of all people, your brother. Remind him of that, Uchiha. Remind him that he's not going at this alone, and maybe he'll quit pushing himself like he has been over the past 2 years."** Naruto shouted.

"Think we should tell Shepard?" Gaara inquired of the Biiju.

"**It couldn't hurt, but really, just you two and Sakura talk to him, and things should be ok."**

"Gaara? What's going on in there!" Miranda asked from the other side of the door.

"Sorry just a minute!" Gaara called back.

"OK Gaara." Miranda answered,

"**Remember what I said, Uchiha, Gaara,****"** Kurama advised, and then the biiju closed Naruto's eyes, and the blonde started to wake up. It is this scene that Miranda walked in to see.

"Is Naruto going to be OK?" the cerberus agent asked.

"He will be," Sasuke told her, "He just needs to rest for a while."

"Is the Commander back yet?" Gaara asked. "I wish to look around the citadel to see how the government here acts."

"Gaara your not a Kage anymore you don't need to look into politics." The blonde joked as he stood up and wiped his forhead with a handkerchief.

"I wish to see what a Spectre is."

"I wouldn't mind trying to fight one, see what they are all about." The Uchiha stated. Miranda looked over the three and smiled lightly.

"I give you authorization to leave the Normandy to explore the citadel. Take your gear with you just in case you run into trouble." They nodded and headed to the armory and got suited up, exited the ship and were already in a crowd after taking ten steps.

"Busy place." Naruto smiled.

"I don't like crowds." Gaara told him.

"Don't worry I'm here with you... now lets go find that Ramen stand!" Naruto laughed as he walked further into the mass of people.

X-X

"Something wrong Commander?" Anderson asked as he watched Shepard lean over the railing and sigh.

"I... a member of my team collapsed." She said worriedly. "I don't know what's wrong and I have no idea how to help him." Anderson walked next to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "I lost Alenko... I lost my whole team, I just don't want to lose him like I have lost everything else."

"I know you cared for Alenko a lot..."

"Not like I care for Naruto." She interrupted him. "If I was in the same position back on Virmire I would risk the whole mission just to be there in his last moments and die with him. That's how I feel for him." Anderson nodded his head.

"You love him." Shepard glanced over at him and nodded her head.

"It's hard not too." She chuckled. "He grows on you more then you know. He is incredible."

"He can even take on a Krogan one on one." Ashley said from where she was standing. "Plus he has a great ass." She smirked as Ashley grinned.

"One hell of a kisser to." Shepard smirked remembering his touch. Her face became sad again as she remembered there last mission. "Dr Chakwas said he was suffering from intense strain. But there was something about the way he was I have never seen him like that. So weak."

"All we can do is wait until Dr Chakwas alerts us that he is awake." Garrus said.

"There has to be a ramen stand around here somewhere!" A shout came from outside making everyone look over the balcony in shock at the voice. "Ramen... Ramen where are you!" The voice came again.

"Naruto!" Naruto, Sasuke and Gaara looked up and saw Garrus, Ashley and Jane all looking down at them.

"Oh hey guys do you know where I can find a ramen stand?" Naruto asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"I am guessing you are not happy to see us." Gaara said. "It would seem that the mess with Naruto has been sorted. He will be fine from now on." Naruto continued to rub the back of his neck as he took on a sheepish grin.

"Sorry for worrying you."

"Come on up, I am sure Councillor Anderson will want to meet you." Garrus called down. "Might even give you directions to a Ramen stand." Naruto was at the door within a minute with a worried looking Gaara who had been dragged along.

"Nice to meet you Naruto." Anderson holding out his hand.

"Councillor."

"Call me Anderson. I didn't want this title." He smiled with a small glare at Shepard.

"Thought you would be better than that dick Udina." Shepard told him.

"He would have been at war three times already with the other races if he was the Councillor." Ashley said. "At least we have a decent man on the Council." Ashley and Gaara talked to Anderson about politics while Garrus went and hoped one of the the terminals to search the net. Naruto walked over to Shepard who had been quite for a time and was once again leaning over the railing.

"You Ok Jane?" Naruto asked leaning next to her staring off onto the richer part of the citadel.

"I am now that I know your safe." She turned and smiled at him. "I don't know what I would have done without you Naruto."

"I'm sure you still would be kicking Collector ass all the way back to there base." Naruto chuckled. "Has EDI decoded the information yet?"

"No not yet, it shouldn't be to long before she does." Shepard told him and both went quite.

"Your not going to ask?"

"I figured you would tell me when you were ready." Shepard smiled. "Plus it's not like I'm going anywhere."

"Just a slight concussion, and 2 years of not getting enough rest, what with Konoha's hunter nin chasing me."

"So that made you collapse?"

"It's a bit more complicated then that..." Naruto went on to tell her about everything that had happened during the war, and his 2 years afterwards, on the run, and the collector ship.

"I'm glad Kurama helped you out."

"_Commander we have decoded the information form the Collector's vessel, would you like me to send the information to you?"_ EDI asked.

"That won't be necessary EDI we are heading back." Naruto's eyes shot wide open.

"What about my Ramen!"

"Next time Naruto." Jane smiled. "Everyone were heading back to the Normandy, time to find out where these Bastards live." Everyone nodded and headed out leaving a smiling Anderson behind.


	11. Chapter 11

Note: This is the last of the chapters I'm adapting from the original. Starting with chapter 12, it will all be original work. Just so you know, I do NOT normally write lemons, but since there was one in the original, I'm leaving it there. Do not expect another one in this fic.

Chapter 11

The whole team stood around the table in complete and utter shock. A holographic map had popped up with the location of the Collector's base and barley anyone could believe it. It was at the center of everything. The Omega 4 relay ended up at the core of the galaxy.

"No wonder no one comes back from the Omega 4 relay... there's nothing there but black holes and exploding suns." Miranda said in shock as she looked at the map.

"It could be possible Commander." Garrus said. "Remember Sovereign, look at the technology that he gave Saren. Another Reaper could have given the Collector's some sort of device that is not affected by the black holes meaning that who ever tried to go after them..."

"Never made it back alive to tell about it." Shepard said and Garrus nodded. "Turns out that this may be a suicide mission after all."

"What if we could find a device like something the Collector's use?" Gaara asked.

"I don't think that we are going to get another chance to rip out a IFF core from a Collector's vessel like we just had... and if I'm going off that mission I'm not trusting the Illusive man as far as I could throw a Mako." She growled. "That was to risky." A few nodded there heads. "So what do we do now? We need a way to get through the Omega 4 relay the same way the Collector's do."

"May have to trust Illusive man. One more time? Just to get it done? Won't have to afterwards and we get our device." Mordin told her. "If not... we may not be able to pass through unharmed." Shepard rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed.

"It looks like we have to trust him again... I don't like this."

"Most of us don't already." Ash growled, Jack and Tailed agreed without hesitation. "I'll follow you into hell itself Commander."

"It may just come to that Ash." Garrus said from where he was leaned up against the wall. "Survival rate of this mission is low, the same collector ship that destroyed the Normandy two years ago has been dogging us all this time, it can't be a coincidence." Shepard nodded her head.

"What is it about Shepard that the Collector's find so fascinating?" Gaara asked.

"It's not the Collector's... it's the Reapers." Jacob told him. "Shepard was able to bring one of them down. The Illusive man thinks that, that has something to do with why the collector's have targeted Humanity, under the Reapers orders."

"Who exactly is this Illusive man?" This came from Sakura.

"Think of Orochimaru." Naruto said from where he was seated on the ground. The other shinobi's expressions darkened.

"Not a friend of yours I take it?" Thane asked.

"Not even close." Both Gaara and Naruto responded at the same time.

"He gave me a curse seal that got me addicted to the power it held," Sasuke explained, "It caused me to betray Konoha, and my friends. He was obsessed with immortality, and learning all jutsu. He was wanting to use my body as his host to take my sharingan. Long story short, he was obsessed, tried to take what wasn't his, so I killed him."

"As long as there is a fight I'm in the mission Shepard." Grunt said as he walked to the door. "I will fight by your side." He directed the statement to Naruto more then anyone else. He respected the blonde more then anyone else. The door slid open and the Krogan walked away.

"Tali, Garrus you with me?" Shepard asked.

"Without a doubt Commander." The Quarian smiled.

"We started this together... might as well end it together. Plus I can't let Naruto have all the glory." Garrus smirked.

"Samara? Thane?"

"I will... but my mission comes first." Samara said and Shepard nodded.

"I will follow you until my illness takes me." Thane said with a small bow.

"Jack?"

"Not like I have anywhere fucking else to go Shepard... if I wanted off I would have gotten off a long time ago." The bald girl smirked.

"I can't let all you young kids put me to shame. Plus I want to see how this turns out." Zaeed smirked. "It's just starting to get interesting."

"The collector base might have some neat stuff. I'm in." Kasumi added.

"I want to get all my loose ends sorted out first... I think everyone might want to." Jacob told her and Shepard nodded.

"I'm in this to the end. With or without the Illusive man." Miranda told her.

"Interesting development. Everyone has agreed to logical if not terminal death. Must see how this works out, can't wait." Mordin said making everyone sweat drop.

"Gaara?" All Shepard got was a nod. "Naruto?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Naruto grinned, "Teme, Sakura-chan?"

"We're in for the long run, Dobe."

"Any other questions, Jane?" Naruto asked.

"I guess not... dismissed." Everyone either Saluted or left leaving Shepard and Ash in the room.

"We should get everything sorted before hitting the Relay Commander."Ash told her. "I have all my loose ends sorted so I'm good, I think you might want to have Naruto talk to Garrus about his... it's a bit tough."

"He had it rough these last two year's didn't he?" Ash nodded her head.

"He might open up to Naruto about it... they have become good friends." Shepard nodded her head.

"I will have Naruto help Garrus through what ever it is he needs to sought out. Naruto wouldn't think twice about helping him." Shepard smiled.

"So how are you and Naruto?"

"It's nice to be in his arms at night." Shepard smiled. "We haven't done anything, pervert." She told the eagerly awaited woman who wanted details.

"Doesn't mean you don't want to." Ash grinned as she nudged her friend. "Think about it... do you know how big he is?"

"Ash!"

"Come on Shepard... we agreed to share details, didn't we." She grinned. "That means we share 'ALL' the details." Shepard rubbed her forehead.

"We have done... something." Ash's eyes flew wide open. "It was a while ago, remember when he stole my underwear?"

"Yeah." Ash chuckled. Shepard mumbled something underneath her breath and Ash leaned in to hear. "What was that?"

"He made me orgasm without even getting me naked." Ash's eyes flew open in surprise.

"He's that good?" She almost shouted at the dreamy look on Shepard's face.

"Better... you won't believe his size..."

"Commander your starting to drool." Ash broke out in laughter as Shepard wiped her lip.

X-X

Naruto was in the elevator heading for his and Shepard's room, he had been sleeping with Shepard for a week or two now and nothing had happened between the two, he wasn't complaining he didn't want to rush things with her and he was comfortable with how there relationship was at the moment.

The fact that Tali had been giving him looks that Ash and Jane had been giving him just put him in more of a predicament how long would it be until she asked Shepard to share. He groaned as the elevator door opened and pushed himself off the back wall and walked in. He glanced at the fish tank before going to the dresser and picking up a pair of boxers and a singlet and heading to the shower. The door slid open and he dropped his clothes on the sink and pressed the button and the shower started. He ran a hand through his hair as he looked into the mirror.

"_It's not like I don't like Ash or Tali... but it's not fair to each of them that I am with another woman?"_ The steam off the hot water started to fog up the mirror and Naruto got undressed and opened the shower door and stepped underneath the water. _"I guess I can talk to Shepard about it..."_ As he was thinking the bathroom door slid open and Shepard walked in with a grin on her face.

"_He hasn't noticed me yet."_ She grinned as she stripped down to nothingness and walked over to the shower and opened the door and wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck pushing her breasts into his back, he stiffened at the touch and looked over his shoulder to see her grinning at him. "Hey."

"Uh... hi." Naruto said awkwardly.

"So, who are _you _thinking of?"  
"Who said I was _thinking _about anybody?" Naruto grinned. Jane looked over his shoulder with a sly smile.

"If you aren't, I'd say the 'little man' is clearly thinking of someone." Shepard grinned. Naruto glanced down, and blushed. His dick was standing at attention; soaked by the water pouring down his body.

"Sorry." He said.  
"I'm not." She smirked. Naruto had to smile. That's the Commander for you, frank, open and never one to mince words.

"What are you doing in here anyway?"

"I thought you would want to take me up on the offer of washing your back for you." She said seductively. "But if your busy you can do it myself." She ran her hands over his broad chest. Naruto turned away and grinned and before Shepard knew it she was pinned up against the wall of the shower with Naruto up against her.

"You sure you just want to wash my back?" He whispered into her ear. She shook her head and moaned as she could feel him push the head of his shaft into her clit. "What do you want Commander?" He asked huskily.

"You." She smiled up at him. "I have for a long time." Naruto leaned in and kissed her and she kissed back as he slid his tongue into her mouth. "I had thought about sharing, but instead, I want you all to myself." Naruto smiled at her.

"If that is what my Commander wants." Shepard smirked as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto lifted her up by her legs and she wrapped them around her waist and he pushed her up against the shower wall again.

"I'm ready for you Naruto." Naruto was about to push in when there was a knock at the door. "Oh god damn it!" Shepard shouted. "What do you want! It better be fucking important!" Naruto rested his head on the wall just above her shoulder.

"Commander the Illusive man is waiting." Kelley said as Shepard groaned as Naruto let her legs fall to the ground. Shepard rested her forehead against Naruto's both had there eyes closed.

"I'll be right out Kelley." She said unenthusiasticly as Naruto turned the shower off and stepped out and grabbed a towel before exiting making Kelly's eyes shoot wide open.

"Oh my I didn't know! I'm so sorry Commander!" She said completely flustered.

"It's all right Kelley... your just doing your job." Jane said from inside the steamy bathroom. "I will be down in a few minutes." She continued as she pulled on a pair Cerberus uniform pants. Kelley headed to the Elevator and Naruto was laying on the bed in only a towel already snoring lightly. The elevator door closed and Shepard walked out in only a bra and her pants. She looked over to Naruto and frowned slightly. _"We will have our time together soon Naruto."_ She thought as she pulled on her shirt and headed for the elevator.

X-X

Naruto jerked awake a few hours later sweating profusely and looked to the clock beside the bed. One PM.

"_That was one hell of a dream..."_ He laid back down and looked to the ceiling before rolling out of bed and realising he was still just in a towel and quickly got changed into one of the Cerberus uniforms that Jacob had gotten for him.

He rolled his shoulders in the restricting clothing and yawned as he walked over to the Elevator. The doors opened and he walked in and pressed the button for the crew's quarters, he was going to go see what Gaara or Garrus was up to. Gaara was in the mess, so Naruto walked in and took a seat.

"Naruto." Gaara greeted from the chair he was sitting in. "What brings you down here?"

"Just woke up." Gaara nodded his head. "What have you been up to?"

"Reading some Data Pads about the council and the Spectres... they are a force to be reckoned with. They are above the law and have there own rules... sounds dangerous." Naruto nodded his head as he leaned back into the couch looking out the window into empty void.

"It's relaxing isn't it?"

"I find it lacking." Gaara responded.

"That's because it's empty." Naruto chuckled. "What do you think Temari and Kankuro are doing at the moment?" Gaara sighed as he leaned back on the opposite couch.

"If Kankuro became Kazekage... paperwork." Both chuckled at the vision of the face painted teen sitting at a desk writing his signature constantly. "Temari... looking for me with a group of sand Shinobi."

"After this is all over... will you go back?" Naruto asked turning his head to look at his friend.

"And be marked as a missing nin? I don't think so." Naruto chuckled remembering all the time's he had hunter nins after him.

"Can't say I blame you for that." Gaara nodded his head. "Well after this is all over what are you going to do?" Gaara thought for a moment before answering.

"Join the council." Naruto smiled at his friends answer.

"Maybe you can bring some light to the council about our planet and get the technology there up and running so that we can start trade routes between worlds." Gaara nodded.

"That was my idea."

"I see now why you are reading so much about politics now. Maybe you can talk to Councillor Anderson when next we head to the citadel. He use to be Captain Anderson before Jane recommended him for the job."

"I read something about that... what about you Naruto Uzumaki? What will you do when the Reaper threat is gone?" Naruto turned and smiled.

"I'm staying with Shepard. I'm sure there are mission's she will get as a Spectre. I will be there to help her at all stages."

"Why not join the Spectres?" Naruto thought about it for a moment. "You would defiantly be a good agent for the job." Gaara added.

"I guess if things go smoothly on the mission I might consider it." Gaara nodded his head.

"If I am on the council by the time that you decided I will back you up." Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Gaara." They both sat in silence as Gaara continued to read the Data pads and Naruto looked out the window.

It was this scene that Sakura and Sasuke walked in on. "Hey, Dobe," the Uchiha said, "You know where we're headed now?"

"Jane hasn't told me. There are several other team members that have some unfinished business. We'll probably head to help one of them out," Naruto explained.

"And what do you think you'll do when this is all over?" inquired Sakura

"I'm staying with Shepard," the blonde sage answered.

"I'm going to join the citadel council," Gaara explained, "There's so much that we can add to this galaxy. Since we're already out here, we may as well contribute."

"What about you two?" asked Naruto

"Don't know yet," Sasuke said, "One thing is sure, though. Once you spend a few days out here, there's really no going back to Konoha."

"I want to try working with the doctor's in the Citadel's hospital," Sakura noted, "There's probably a lot I can do, and learn while I'm at it." The four shinobi stared out the window at the void of space, still in awe at the vastness of the galaxy.

X-LEMON-X

Jane was completely pissed off hoping Naruto would come back up soon, she had been so looking forward to having sex with Naruto for the first time and she gets called into a fucking meeting! She spent a whole of ten minutes talking to the Illusive man horny as hell and then when it was finished went to help Jacob with his father on the planet that was currently below them. It didn't help that she was still slightly hot underneath the hood.

She had taken Jack down so that she would let Naruto sleep and give Garrus some time off... she felt as if tho she was neglecting the rest of the team so she needed to start taking the others out on mission's and not just them two. She tilted her head to the side and rubbed her neck getting the knot out and sighing in relief.

What the Illusive man had told her was somewhat interesting a dormant Reaper with a Cerberus research team, the Reaper IFF in that would no doubt get them through the Omega 4 relay but before that happened she wanted to get everyone's last personal mission out of the way and after she had got the IFF she would have to make sure that the Normandy was 100% ready for what ever lay ahead on the other side.

She sighed again and this time in annoyance as she laid back on the mattress. Her legs off the side of the bed and her feet flat on the floor as she ran her hands over her face as she started to take in her relationship with Naruto. She was glad that they had started a relationship with one another even if she was older then him, he didn't care he liked her all the same.

"_We play jokes on one another all the time... sometimes I think that we have nothing to worry about when we are together... like nothing else matters."_ She closed her eyes and rested a hand on her chest and left it rise and fall with her breathing. She couldn't help but smile as his goofy grin popped into her head. _"How could I fall for someone so quickly... Naruto you truly are amazing."_ She smiled as her time in the shower with him came to mind and a blush covered her features.

Her hand unconsciously went to her stomach and lifted her shirt she ran her hands over her smooth belly and proceeded to unbutton her pants. One button at a time, until her pants were flaring suggestively open, exposing her blue cotton panties. A chill rushed over her body. She could feel her pointy nipples standing fully erect underneath her shirt.

She couldn't help but feel the hardness at her clit again just like he had done in the shower and she almost whimpered as her legs stretched out and her toes curled. Venturing a hand into her unbuttoned pants, she discovered just how hot and wet her nether region truly was. Her panties were absolutely plastered to her lower lips, and she could feel the wetness seeping through them. A single finger teasing the skin above her panties, Jane eased a hand under the weak elastic, giving herself a stroke. She was surprised at how wet she found herself to be already. She opened her eyes and looked around the room and saw one of Naruto's shirts that he usually sleeps in.

"I can't do that..." She was already reaching for the shirt as she finished the sentence and picked it up off the side of the bed and brought it to her face and breathed in his scent. "Oh god..." Her finger was now making a grove into her slit forcing herself to have a camel toe and she breathed in more of Naruto's scent. She glanced at the clock to show that it was eight pm where the hell was Naruto!

She stood up and hooked her thumbs into her pants dropping the shirt in the process, she peeled them on down her legs and stepped out of them. Standing, she was astonished to see in the mirror that her pussy had in fact completely drenched her panties. Her slit— no, the entirety of her hot cunt— was defined (one might say crudely so) through the blue cotton fabric of her sopping wet panties. They were even glossy on the outside!

Dipping her middle finger to the wettest spot of her crotch, she found a slickness sliding around on her panties and touching her clit in the process sent such a surge throughout her body. She clutched her crotch, as her other hand sought support from the dresser. The feeling subsided. Though she could acutely feel the inner lips of her wet wet pussy desirous to suck at the length of her finger through her soaked panties. She brought her finger up to examine it. Slick with her juice, it was slippery, yet clear.

"Mmm …" she softly hummed.  
She stood back off the dresser and reached with her other hand down toward her pussy— only this time, she slowly ventured her hand inside her panties. She was immediately greeted by her extraordinary wetness. It even coated the backs of her knuckles. Her pussy felt like it was absolutely melting around her fingers as she slowly pushed three of them through the wet creases that defined her labia.

She had a tight pussy, and firm, but with little effort she could pressure her middle finger to dip between her juicy lips and tap at her hole. For the time being however, she was wrapped in the sensation of her steamy wet vagina, wetter than it had ever been, seemingly wanting to suck her finger in. She could feel it flaring open. Pulsing. Everything sliding around. The panties had to go.

She retracted her hand and looked at it again. Her fingers were simply slimy. She pulled the waistband of her underwear away to look down into them. The same glossy puddle that was streaking the outside of her panties was nothing short of a slick shiny pool in the crotch of them. And when she pulled them away, she saw a little spittle-strand of sticky juice roping away from the smacking wet lips of her was as if she had had a wet dream in her underwear; and yet she was fully conscious. This was the effect Naruto always had on her when ever they would start something.

She thought maybe she better get a grip on herself. It was risky what she was doing right then. All hell could break loose if someone other then Naruto would come up the Elevator and when she had that thought she heard the Elevator start to come up. She stopped what she was doing, jumped to the bed and got underneath the sheets feigning sleep. The door to the room opened and Naruto yawned as he walked in and looked over to Shepard and smiled as he yawned again and headed for the bed. He lifted up the sheet and slipped in next to her and watched as her eyes twitched underneath her eyelids.

"How long are you going to act?" Naruto asked with a smirk and her eyes opened without hesitation.

"Took your time getting back." She almost growled at him.

"Is someone just a little hot and bothered are they." He smirked again and she gave him a pleading look. He scooted closer and kissed her on the lips which she immediately returned. Naruto's nose twitched and he grinned as he kissed her and moved his hand to her hip underneath the covers.

"Naruto?"

"I can't believe you started without me." He chuckled.

"I did no such thing." She blushed at being found out.

"Oh yeah?" He said moving his hand to the front of her underwear. "So why is it so wet down here." Jane's eyes shot open as Naruto's fingers brushed against her and she moaned as one of his fingers pushed a little more then the others and his finger became soaked. "I could smell you ever since I got into the elevator... my nose is stronger then most."

"You animal." She grinned as she leaned in and kissed him as he continued to run his fingers between her panty covered lips. Shepard groaned and through the sheets off and rolled over onto the blonde and grinning down at him before leaning in and kissing him. Naruto had his hands on her sides as she straddled his waist, and hers were on his chest. She moved one of her hands down to his stomach. Then back up to his chest, then down to his stomach, over and over again, slowly. Naruto used his hands and travelled them up her back when felt her bra, and held his hands there for a few moments. When she didn't react, he attempted to undo it and it worked. Her bra was now undone underneath her shirt. However, she didn't do anything about it. Just continued to run her hand up and down his tone chest. She leaned back from the kiss and smirked.

"This is for making me wait Naruto." She said as she leaned down and they kissed once more. It took him a few seconds to notice, but she began to very slowly and very mildly grind her hips. It was apparent that she was rubbing her panty-covered pussy against his pant-covered lump. It was getting pretty hot in there.  
He held his hands over her butt as she did so, still fiercely making out. She continued to very slowly and very mildly grind her hips. Naruto decided to start reciprocating. In accordance to her rhythm, he slowly and very mildly thrust up.  
Naruto ran his hands up her back and realized that her bra had now completely slipped off her breasts. It was now down to her mid-back underneath her shirt. Naruto squeezed her ass nice and hard, causing her to moan ever so lightly. He brought his hands up to the middle of her back. Every now and then he would run his hands down to her butt, hold them there for a few seconds, and squeeze, then bring them back up to her back.

Naruto rolled her over so that she was on her back and he was halfway on top of her. he could tell she liked this because she smiled and wrapped on of her legs around him, to which he responded by rubbing her thigh. They were now in the process of another make out session. Naruto gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up breaking the kiss for a mere second as he pulled it off him and resuming the kiss.

Jane reached down and lightly rubbed his shaft through his pants, never breaking away from the kiss. Naruto felt like he was going to explode and after a few more seconds she stopped and grabbed his hand. She thrust his hand down to her pussy and placed his hand on it, still covered by her panties, which were even more wet then before. He began rubbing his fingers between her lips again. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, bit her lip, and moaned. Naruto kissed her on the neck as he continued to rub her wet pussy.

"I want you to fuck me," Jane moaned out. Naruto grinned as he kissed her neck again and brought his mouth up to her ear and sucked on her earlobe.

"Are you sure?" He whispered making her shudder. She didn't respond. She just pushed him off her, sat up, and knelt on the bed next to him. She proceeded to place her hands on his chest and run them down slowly to his stomach, to his pelvis. She unbuttoned his pants and began to pull them down, Naruto lifted his butt off the bed. As the pants and underwear came down from his waist his cock stood up making her grin.

She pulled his jeans to about the middle of his thighs, then gently took his cock in her hand. She looked at him and slowly began stroking. Slowly and gently. Naruto smiled as he watched her.

With each stroke she tightened her grip just a little. She continued to go slowly, though. After about ten or twelve strokes, Naruto watched her lean down and lightly kiss the tip. She then proceeded to lick the entire head, swirling her tongue around, undoubtedly getting a small taste of pre-cum.

"You're gonna make me cum," Naruto groaned. She smiled and pulled away. She slowly crawled back up the bed and lied next to him. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and went in for the kiss. But she stopped him. She put her hand on his chest and pushed. "What?" He asked, confused and somewhat concerned. She put her other hand on his chest and pushed me, sitting up as she did so. Once they were both sitting-her legs out in front of her, his tucked under him—she showed him her wet panties and ran a finger over them.

"Take them off," She said. Naruto shifted his way to the bottom of the bed, leaned over, grabbed them by the waistband, and slid them off of her, over her butt, then sliding down the pubic bone, she had a neatly-groomed strip of hair, then off her pussy. It was beautiful with nicely-shaped lips. He slid them down her thighs, over her knees, and off her feet. He dropped them on the floor and looked at her: she had her knees bent, up in the air, arms on the bed at her sides, propping her up slightly, and she was smiling at him. He knew what she wanted.

She moved her legs apart and she moved her arms and lied flat on her back as Naruto made his way up, the source of the musky smell that he could smell in the elevator right in front of him.

Naruto place his lips on her labia and slowly inserted his tongue. Naruto heard her moan and felt her slightly tense up, then quickly release. It was almost as if it was a shock to her. He inserted his tongue further. He began moving his tongue up and down inside her pussy, his lips still against her pussy lips. She moaned and tensed up again.  
Naruto continued moving his tongue up and down for a few more seconds, then got a little more into it. He pushed his lips in between her lips and began to swirly his tongue around, while simultaneously sucking. She arched her back at this and moaned a little louder. He continued to suck and swirl, occasionally throwing in a come-hither motion with his tongue. She was very much enjoying it, because she continued to moan, although quietly.

His mouth started to get tired, so he decided to pull his mouth off of her pussy for a second, at which point, he saw her clit. He decided to very lightly rub it. With that, she let out a moan significantly louder than the previous ones. It was a short, spastic moan, almost as though she couldn't control it. So he continued to gently rub her clit with his thumb. After a few seconds, he inserted his index finger halfway into her pussy. He put it in more, slowly, until-at about two-thirds of the way in-she gasped. He just held it there as I continued to rub her clit. Her breathing got heavier by the breath. He decided to go in for another round.

Naruto leaned in and put his mouth back on her pussy, this time just going for it. It shocked her. She grabbed his head and suddenly moved back a little. It was more of a good reaction than a bad one. She kept her hand on his head as he ate her out. He started to feel a warm, thick liquid produce. It wasn't thick like saliva, but it wasn't as thin as water.

Her breathing grew heavier, slowly growing to moans. Then the moans started getting louder. As she got louder, Naruto licked faster. As he licked faster, more juices began to produce. His tongue was starting to hurt.

"Don't stop!" She exclaimed, now hardly able to control her breathing. "Don't stop!" She said again. She still had her hand on his head, but now she was pushing him into her pussy. She wanted to be sure that he did not stop. "Oh God!" Naruto licked faster as she moaned louder. She moaned louder as more juices produced. More juices produced as he sucked harder. He sucked harder as she push his head harder. "Keep going!" She moaned loudly. She squeezed his head with her thighs. "Yes!"  
She yanked his hair and pulled him back. She stopped breathing as her eyes widened and she arched her back. She began to writhe uncontrollably. After a few seconds, she let out her loudest moan yet-it was almost a scream. She lied flat on the bed again, still moaning, writhing. She moaned and she moaned as her orgasm overcame her. It died down after about ten seconds. Her breathing, however, didn't subside. She was breathing as if she'd just ran a mile. Soon enough, that died down, too, and she started laughing.

She sat up and his face in her hands. She then looked at him and smiled. He smiled back. She moved in and kissed him hard on the mouth

"Thank you." She said, holding his face. He just smiled at her. His cock was still fully exposed, and still fully erect. So she reached down and began stroking it looking him in the eyes. "I want you to fuck me." She told him, looking him dead in the eye without blinking.

She took his face in her hands again and smiled. Once again, he smiled back. They kissed, and she got off the bed and stood up. She lifted her shirt over her head so that her bra fell onto the floor.

She was completely naked. Naruto just stared at her and she climbed back onto the bed. She just kneeled on the bed. Naruto snapped back into reality and realized she was waiting for him to get completely naked. He stood up and pulled his pants completely off. He climbed back on the bed and they kneeled across from each other, just admiring each other's naked bodies.

Jane laid down on her back and she spread her legs, knees bent, 45 degrees to the bed. She looked at him as she rubbed her clit. Naruto made his way over to her. He got between her legs, lowered himself down, holding himself up with his arms. The tip touched her lips, and he looked at her. She had a face of beautiful impatience on.

"Are you ready?" He asked asked her.

"Oh God, I don't think I can remember when I wasn't ready." She moaned. "Put it in."

Naruto looked at her gorgeous face, into her eyes, and pushed his cock past her lips and into her pussy. He barely had the head in when she gasped. He pushed in further. At about a third of the way in.

"Deeper." She said when he had stopped stopped. He went deeper. At two-thirds of the way in, he pulled back out, then back in two-thirds, out, in, out in, going progressively faster with each thrust.

She contorted her face as Naruto fucked her. It was beautiful. He kept his eyes on her the entire time, watching her face. He thrust his hips, faster and faster. She lied there, taking it, enjoying every inch.

"Deeper." She moaned again.  
"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yes." Naruto pushed every inch of his cock inside of her, causing her to gasp. She grabbed the sheets and she tilted her head back and let out a moan."Oh, fuck." She was not expecting that. Naruto continued to fuck her with every inch, faster, but still gently. "Pull out." Jane said, somewhat unable to control her breathing. Naruto pulled out, and she sat up, pushing him over so that he was now on his back. She mounted him, straddling him at his waist, her warm, wet pussy resting against his stomach. She bent down and kissed him. Sitting back up, she slid back, lifting herself up slightly. She hovered over his cock for a moment, and took it in her hand. She held it and she slowly lowered herself, guiding it in.

She lowered herself onto Naruto's cock, inch by inch. She got it all in, shuddering at she did so. Her pussy lips were now right up against his pubic bone. He was buried. She had that look of beautiful peacefulness on her face and she pushed herself up again, then lowered herself down. Up, down. Up, down. Naruto was now clenching the sheets, closing his eyes, tilting his head back.

"I'm gonna-cum!" No sooner did she say that than she arched her back and screamed. She was shaking as her pussy grasped his cock, pulsating as she shook. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuck." She moaned with every deep breath she took. She looked down at him and smiled. "Your turn." She started to go up and down again as she continued to smile down at the blonde.

Naruto rubbed her thighs as she bounced up and down on his cock. She moaned each time she came down on it. With her fucking him and moaning at the same time, he was as turned on as he was going to get. He felt his orgasm coming on.

"I'm gonna cum!" He said. She didn't stop. "Jane, I'm gonna cum!" She stopped bouncing, and stayed on his cock, balls deep. He was buried, about to cum. "Jane!"  
"Cum in my pussy, Naruto." She said in the dirtiest way. She started to grind her pussy against his pubic bone, his cock buried deep inside her. She went in circles, then back and forth. Then in circles, then back and forth, all the while his cock was buried balls deep inside her pussy.

"I'm cumming." He moaned out and she arched her back pushing her breasts out.

Naruto shot his load up inside her. It took her a moment, but she felt it. "I can feel it," She said, looking him dead in the eye. Naruto shot about four or five times, his cock pulsating inside her pussy. She had her beautiful angelic face on again. She leaned over and kissed him, long and slow. "I love you." She told him resting her forehead on his with her eyes closed.. "I love you so much Naruto." She opened her eyes expecting to see some sought of rejection in his eyes but there was none, nothing but complete and total love. He went for her lips and kissed her like he had never before and she moaned into it. It was the best kiss she had ever had.

"I love you." He told her making her smile as she closed her eyes. They broke apart and snuggled close to each other and Naruto leaned up and grabbed the sheet bringing it over there naked forms and they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep. Both completely satisfied.

X-END LEMON-X

Naruto stood in the briefing room next to Garrus who was annoyed at the situation. He would never say anything bad about Mordin but at the moment the only thing he was thinking was that he fucking hated the Salarian.

"You want to go to Tuchanka?" Shepard asked a little shocked. "Any reason why?"

"Yes. Always a reason to do something. Former student, kidnapped by Krogan gang and is being forced to perform experiments on cure for Genophage."

"Would that be so bad? They are trying to rebuild there race something you had a hand in destroying." Naruto asked.

"If I could go back. I would make the same decision." Mordin said without hesitation. "If not for Genophage Krogan would conquer all, nothing would be left."

"He has a point Naruto. The Krogan breed like rabbits, to every one Krogan female six would be born if mated with. The Krogan used sheer numbers in the past, it was why they were so effective." Garrus told him.

"Maelon will be in danger. He is not a fighter, I wish to know that he is all right."

"And with the research he has on the Genophage?" Naruto asked.

"It would be best if I keep it. Analyze it. See if I can remove Genophage but let reproduction limit decline without killing innocent Krogan." Mordin told him.

"You can do that?" Garrus asked.

"I can try. What the Salarian's did to the Krogan were wrong. I know that but it was for the safety of every other species."

"_Commander if you are going to Tuchanka I suggest you take Grunt he is seeming... unstable."_ EDI said over the intercom. _"Miss Chambers knows more."_ Shepard sighed and nodded her head.

"I will be taking Mordin and Grunt down..." Shepard started.

"Home world of the Krogan sounds fun want to go Garrus?" Naruto said eager to fight more Krogan.

"Not particularly." Garrus said.

"What why not!"

"I would prefer not catching up with an old friend." The Turian grumbled.

"Old Friend?"

"Urdnot Wrex." Shepard chuckled. "Is he still holding that drinking game over you?" She laughed. Garrus's shoulders slumped forward.

"A friend of yours is a friend of mine! I want to meet him. Maybe you and your team can help Mordin and me and Garrus can help Grunt." Naruto said as he rubbed his chin. "I think that would work."

"Alright Mordin and Miranda are with me. You two are with Grunt."

"Commander..." Garrus whined only for Naruto to chuckle.

**With Shepard, Miranda and Mordin.**

Shepard's team had fought their way past the blood pack mercs, only to find themselves in a re-purposed Krogan hospital. They had walked a short distance inside the hospital when they came across the body of a dead human.

"Body, human. Need to take a look," Mordin said and then walked up and examined the body with his omnitool. "Sores, tumors, ligature marks from restraints on wrists and ankles. Track marks for repeated injection sites. Test subject. Victim of experimentation."

"I don't guess there's any way to tell who this poor bastard was?" Shepard half-asked.

"No tattoos or ID," Mordin continues, "Maybe prisoner or slave. Maybe merc or pirate. Irrelevant now. Clearly part of krogan tests to cure genophage. Humans useful as test subjects. Genetically diverse. Enables exploration of treatment modalities." Shepard continued to listen to Mordin's explanation. After learning why humans made good test subjects, the team moved on.

**With Naruto, Garrus, and Grunt**

The three warriors jumped out of the Krogan truck, followed by the Urdnot shaman. Shaman explained about the area where Grunt's Rite of Passage would take place, and the keystone, and Garrus readied his assault rifle.

"_**This should be fun**_," Kurama said to Naruto, "_**I like this race.**_" Naruto chuckled a bit.

"What's so funny?" Shaman inquired of the young shinobi.

"Oh, nothing," Naruto replied, "Just thinking about something."

Garrus hit the keystone, and the rite was underway. A voice boomed over a loudspeaker, telling the history of the Krogan race. When the explanation was over, numerous varren charged out of cages all over the trial grounds.

"Hey, Naruto," Grunt yells, "Most kills without guns buys the first three rounds?"

"You're on," the blonde retorts, and readies a K-bar knife, going after one varren after another. Garrus shook his head as he watched the Krogan and the ninja wade through one varren after another till there were none left.

"Hit the keystone again, Garrus," Grunt ordered, "I want more."

After the keystone was hit once more, there was another explanation of Krogan history, and a bunch of insect-like creatures started coming out. This time, Grunt took out his shotgun, while Naruto readied his pistols. The insects attacked with fire attacks, which ate away at the fighters' shields. Grunt charged his way out of the crossfire, while Naruto grabbed Garrus and jumped out.

"These things are tough," the Turian sniper said, "Any ideas?"

"One," Naruto said, pulling his K-bar out again, looking at the charging insectoids, "Remember Horizon?"

"What about it?"

"The lead pipe? This is going to be somewhat like it." He held the knife like a saber, and channeled his wind chakra into the blade. "**Wind Style: Wind Cutter!**" he grinned as he jumped into the middle of the pack of insectoids, and started slicing through all of them, cutting the creatures down in fast order.

"Let's not ever really make him mad," Garrus whispered to Grunt, only to have the Krogan laugh. Hearing the laugh, the Turian looked to see the Krogan super-soldier shaking, "Excited?"

"I want to fight him again."

_**XXXXEnd Chapter 11XXXX**_

Note: This looks like a good place to end this chapter. I'll finish Grunt and Mordin's loyalty missions in the next chapter, and move on to Samara's. I always end the loyalty missions with Thane and Garrus' in my playthroughs. Expect some shinobi fun on Omega while Shepard's dealing with Morinth.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Tuchanka: Rite of Passage (Naruto, Garrus, Grunt)**_

The young krogan and the Turian sniper looked awed at the young shinobi who just stood in front of them, covered in insect-goo.

"Aw man," Naruto says, "I don't think this is gonna come clean."

"Let Jacob and Ash handle that, Naruto," Grunt told the blonde, "Garrus, hit the keystone." The Turian did as told and another explanation of Krogan history began. When it was over, a small set of antennae poked up from the ground.

"This is the test?"Grunt asked, then shouldered his shotgun and let loose. After that, a monster towered over the three.

_**Tuchanka: Hospital (Shepard, Mordin, and Miranda)**_

They had proceeded through several rooms, finding the results of the Blood Pack's genophage experiments at every turn. Shepard even had to dig deep to convince a wounded Urdnot scout to return back to Wrex's camp. Everywhere they turned showed the extents that the Blood Pack would go to to cure the genophage.

"Thinking about Naruto?" Miranda asks her commander.

Shepard turns and asks, "Is it that obvious?"

"That look is. He's helping Grunt with his Rite of Passage. I wonder just what is involved?"

_**Tuchanka: Rite of Passage (Naruto, Garrus, Grunt)**_

"Way to go, Grunt," Garrus shouted, "You just picked a fight with a goddammed THRESHER MAW."

"What is this thing?" Naruto asked from cover.

"Huge, and hard to kill," Garrus explained, "Just one of these things was responsible for taking out a platoon of Alliance Marines on Akuze."

"_**Naruto, I can help**_." Kurama said from the seal, "_**You can summon me like you would Gamabunta**_."

"_That didn't work when Madara tried during the war._"

"_**Because you and I are linked together with the seal. He couldn't summon me, but you can**_."

Naruto smiled as he removed his glove and bit into his thumb. He then cycled through the necessary hand-signs and shouted, "**Summoning Jutsu!**" The blonde shinobi was thrown into the air and caught by a red-furred tail, as eight other tails thrashed around the battleground. A furry claw reached out from the smoke and slashed at the Thresher Maw. When the smoke finally cleared, Naruto stood atop the head of the mighty Nine-Tailed Fox.

"Did you know he could do that, Grunt?" Garrus asked. Grunt just stood there.

The Thresher spat a viscous acid at the fox, who jumped into the air to avoid the attack. Kurama then picked up a piece of debris from the battlefield with a tail and threw it at the Maw. "**Naruto, I'm going to need your help here,**" the fox told his partner, "**As it stands, I cannot use hand-signs. You will act on my will, and create the hand-sign for the Shadow Clone jutsu**."

"Ok, Kurama. Let's do it." He made the necessary sign, and in unison with the fox, comanded, "**SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!**" Smoke filled the entire battlefield as fox claws reached out from all directions slashing into the Thresher Maw's hide. One final claw uppercutted the maw into the air while Kurama gathered energy into his open mouth. He swallowed the ball of condensed energy and then let loose with a blast that shook the skies and disintigrated the thresher maw. Kurama's shadow clones all disappeared, and the fox laid his head down in front of Garrus and Grunt for Naruto to jump down.

"Naruto," Garrus asks, "Is this the 'Fox' you keep mentioning?"

"You still know how to make a first impression, Kurama," the blonde laughed, causing the fox to laugh, too.

The Urdnot shaman arrived soon after, and proceeded to congratulate Grunt on passing his Rite. He then looked at Naruto and Kurama. The old Krogan walked over to the fox. "I have not seen a being hold so much power in all my years, creature," the shaman said, "Please allow me the honor of knowing your name."

"**I am Kurama,**" the fox replied, "**mightiest of the nine biiju, and partner to Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."**

"It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Kurama, and Naruto. You two are also granted special status, and are honorary members of Clan Urdnot."

_**Tuchanka – Urdnot Camp – 2 hours later.**_

Naruto's party finally exited their truck to be met by Shepard, Miranda and Mordin. Shepard saw the condition of Naruto's armor and asked Garrus, "Let me guess. He overdid it again, didn't he?"

"Let's just say that the Thresher Maw is no longer the most feared creature on Tuchanka," Garrus reported, "A certain Fox is."

"You summoned Kyuubi?" came a voice from the shuttle, as Sakura stepped off with Jacob and Sasuke, "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I'm the only one who can summon Kurama,"Naruto explains, "The seal has us linked together, and if needed, I can summon him." Naruto continued to explain his relationship with his biiju, as the Normandy crew took off from Tuchanka, and headed back to their ship.

_**Shinobi Homeworld – Land of Fire – Konoha**_

"We welcome you," Tsunade said to the asari and human diplomats sent from the citadel to make contact, "Commander Shepard has told us what is coming, and we shinobi will be ready to assist you when the time comes with additional troops."

"Shepard has made mention of your people's skills," Donnell Udina, councilor Anderson's assistant noted, "And we look forward to a demonstration."

"We have envoys of some of the best shinobi from the now seven great nations, including the Hidden Leaf, Sand, Mist, Rock, Cloud, Rain, and the Land of Iron," Tsunade explained, "Our technology may seem primative to you, but our abilities with chakra more than make up for it."

"I am quite sure," the asari responded, "But what did Shepard say was coming?"

"The Reapers, of course," the Hokage replied, "And we sent our best soldiers out with her."

"Lady Tsunade," Udina stated, "When will your envoys be here?"

"Everyone but the Hidden Stone, Cloud, and Sand envoys are here already," the busty blonde explained, "They will be another couple of days getting here. Why?"

"I would like for Councilor Anderson himself to come here and see for himself your people's abilities, and to discuss an alliance between your people and the citadel council, as well as the human Systems Alliance," the councilor's assistant said, "It would not do for me to speak on his behalf."

"How long would it take for the Councilor to get here?"

"Shouldn't take longer than a couple of days. I have already sent word to him using my omni-tool. He said he'll be coming on an Alliance ship, and here as soon as possible." Udina and Tsunade shook hands and the Hokage, along with her ANBU escort, showed the Citadel envoy around the village."

_**Normandy SR-2**_

The party from Tuchanka had just left their gear in the armory. Shepard pulled Naruto over to the side. "I'd like to meet this fox," she told the young blonde.

"You want to meet Kurama?"

"He's apparently a part of you," Shepard noted, "And if that's so, then I want to meet him. He's a part of you, and thus a part of my crew."

"_Hey, Fox, she wants to meet you_."

"_**I heard, kid. We can do it, but I'll have to pull her consciousness into the seal to do it. Meaning, I can only do it when you two are asleep.**_"

"He said he can only do it when we're both asleep. Tonight then?"

"Yeah. We've got time, while we head to the next port: Omega. Samara's tracked her fugitive there, and I'll be helping her get her."

"I guess I'll take Sasuke, Sakura, Garrus and Gaara and get a drink in Afterlife then. Who knows, it may be fun."

_**Captain's Cabin – Time: 22:00 hours.**_

Naruto and Shepard lay together in bed, asleep. Shepard thought she was dead to the world, until she awoke in what looks like a huge forest. "Welcome to my mindscape," Naruto said to her, "You should have seen it before. Looked like a sewer. But, once I realized I could control the place, I turned it into this, to make Kurama a bit more comfortable."

"**So, you're Shepard**_**,**_" came a voice as a fox the size of a large Thoroughbred horse walked up. The most defining trait that Shepard noted was that this fox has nine tails.

"And you're Kurama," she states, "I've been a little anxious to meet you."

"**And I you**," the fox told the auburn-tressed human, "**You've been the best thing to happen to this knucklehead. You probably know that his life hasn't exactly been all sunshine and bunnies**."

"It never is for a Jinchuriki," Naruto explained, "Gaara, Bee, and all the other jinchuriki went through such tough times. But it makes us stronger, and it makes us search hard to find that one thing to fill the void in our lives. Speaking of which, Kurama, I was wondering if it's possible to reach out to the other biiju?"

"**Not for a while. There's still some months till they revive. Madara's restoring the Juubi effectively killed them for a while. They'll be restored again in about 3 more months.**"

"Then we need to get word to Bee to have him and Gyuuki contact the other biiju to help against the Reapers," Naruto noted.

"Anderson said he's going to the shinobi homeworld, to meet Tsunade, and discuss a possible alliance. I can have a message sent to Bee through him," Shepard offered.

"**That would be great, Shepard**," Kurama said in thanks, "**All nine Biiju would be a great weapon to use against the reapers. If the Great Nations don't seal them up again. Make sure Tsunade knows not to seal the Biiju up again.**"

_**Omega – Docks – 3 days later**_

"While I'm helping Samara," Shepard explained to her crew, "the rest of you have shore leave. Relax, and be ready to leave when I contact you."

"Garrus, Sasuke, Gaara, Sakura, you're with me," Naruto said to his friends, "We're getting a drink at Afterlife."

"Aria's going to love this," Garrus notes to himself as he and the four shinobi head for the bar.

No sooner had the group gotten into the club, then a Batarian came up to them. He looked right at Naruto.

"You Naruto Uzumaki?" he asked, "Aria wants to see you, and your comrades."

"Wonder what she wants?" Naruto asks as they follow the Batarian.

"We'll find out soon enough," Sakura states, "Because it seems we're there." The group had followed their escort into the Pirate Queen's VIP suite.

"Have a seat," the Asari commands, and the five all sit down, with Naruto in the center of the group.

"What can we do for you?" the blonde asks, "You calling in that favor already?"

"You could say that," Aria answered, "I have need of a 'fixer' of sorts, to take care of a certain 'situation'. If you do this for me, then I will consider us even."

"Then we'll do it," Naruto replied, "What do we have to do?"

"My associate, Griz, will let you know, shortly," Aria explained, "Until then, you shinobi have started to make a name for yourselves. I heard about Nassana Dantius on Ilium. You did the Asari a favor by taking her out. I've been hearing rumors about you since you left Omega. There's always a place for you here."

"While your offer is...enticing," Sasuke states, "We're signed on with Shepard for the long haul on this mission of hers. The Collectors...The Reapers, they're a threat to the entire galaxy, and have to be dealt with."

"I had heard of the Reapers from the Asari councilor not long after Saren attacked the Citadel," the Pirate Queen comments, "Shepard's done me several favors in helping me stay in power here, and for that, I owe her. When the time comes, and the Reapers arrive, I'll ally the mercenaries of Omega with her forces. But I have to warn you all, be very wary of Cerberus, and the Illusive Man. I've had run ins with his people over the years, and he'll stab you in the back in a heartbeat."

"We'll deal with Cerberus in our own way." Gaara tells Aria, "We have weapons that even he doesn't have. We just need certain...assistance."

"Such as?"

"Our people aren't as technologically advanced as you are," Gaara explained, "But we do have the strongest soldiers in the galaxy. If we can get information on the Illusive Man's location, I want to get several teams of Shinobi onto his base, along with technicians from either the Alliance, or your group, and take out the Illusive Man, and thus, crush the head of the snake that is Cerberus."

"We'll have to specially outfit them in armor that matches the specifications of yours," Aria thinks out loud, "You'll have to go to the Shepard for that..but we can stage here for the assault on Cerberus. I'll put out feelers to look for the Illusive Man while you finish off the Collectors. I'll have the local Eclipse work with your people to provide technical assistance. I take it you four will want to lead the assault?"

"Three," Gaara says, "Konoha Team 7 will lead the assault, consisting of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. I'll hang back and help coordinate the assault with the other teams through command and control channels."

_**Konoha – Hokage's office – Same time as Gaara's explaining his plan.**_

"Your people have to be the strongest soldiers I have ever seen," David Anderson said, shaking Tsunade's hand, "I was especially surprised by that duo named, Kakashi and Gai. Those two work very well together. The Citadel Council, and the Systems Alliance welcomes an alliance with the shinobi. We will begin outfitting your people with armor that will allow them to work in concert with us. We will also provide technical assistance where needed."

"And we will be ready when the time comes to face the Reapers," Tsunade stated.

"I have a message for you from Naruto," Anderson told the Hokage, "he had Shepard send it to me. He says to have Bee get in contact with the other 7 Biiju when they reappear in 3 months, and to let the other lands know not to seal them away again. They will be a useful ally in the fight against the Reapers. Naruto and someone named 'Kurama' can create an team of the nine biiju to take on the Reapers and possibly destroy them."

"Kurama is the nine-tailed fox sealed in Naruto," Tsunade explains, "If Naruto and Kurama can bring the biiju together to take on the Reapers, then I'll make sure that they don't get sealed. I'll get word to Bee in Kumo. Anything else?"

"Not right now, but we will be in contact again soon to help you get yourselves technologically ready for the Reapers. Shepard forwarded us the modifications to make to normal combat hardsuits to allow for Chakra use."

_**Omega – Afterlife – VIP Lounge**_

Naruto and his team had just talked to Patriarch, and tried to talk some sense into the old Krogan, but to no avail. That was when Sakura, being the brains of Team 7, suggested that they fight the mercs for Patriarch, as his Kraant. This went over better with the former Krogan Warlord of Omega and Team 7 walked casually into the VIP lounge area where Naruto watched Shepard walk out with an Asari, then turned to see several Blood Pack mercs walk into the lounge. "This must be them," the blonde thinks as he cracks his knuckles, then says, "You looking for Patriarch?"

"What's it to you, boy?" the lead Krogan asks, as he gets a **Wind Style: Rasengan** through the chest, sending him flying back into a wall. Sasuke then gave another merc a **Chidori** through the head, and Sakura pounded the last one so hard that his armor shattered and he went flying over the ring of dancers, and then through a wall.

"He said hi," the Uchiha stated bluntly as the group walked back and told Patriarch of what happened. He seemed happy to have the situation dealt with in the way it was, as it gave him back a bit of his Krogan pride. Another short talk with Aria, and a couple of drinks later, and the group was called back to the Normandy.

_**Normandy SR-2: Briefing Room.**_

"Now that all that's handled, we can head to the citadel, and meet with Anderson, as well as take care of a few things for Garrus and Thane," Shepard says, "Naruto, you want to help Garrus?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied, "He told me about Sidonis before we hit Omega. I'll take Sasuke with me. No offense, Sakura, but you're better served by staying with Dr. Chakwas, until we hit the Collectors themselves, then Team 7 will go all out."

"I understand," the rosette haired girl answered.

"Ok, I'll help Thane, and You and Sasuke will help Garrus," Shepard noted, "Joker, how long till we hit the Citadel?"

"About 4 days," Joker commented, "We're going to have to hit a few more uninhabited planets to get materials to finish upgrading the ship. All we've left to acquire is the upgrades to our shields, and fuel stores. That requires a ton of Palladium, and Platinum. I'll have EDI automate the entire process. It'll give us some time to come up with a plan for the Derelict Reaper and getting that IFF."

"Good idea, Joker. Make it happen," Shepard told the helmsman, and then dismissed everyone. Naruto stayed behind.

"You look like you went through hell," he said, "Was dealing with Samara's fugitive that bad?"

"That fugitive was her daughter," Shepard said, as she turned and embraced her shinobi lover, "I can hardly describe how horrible she must feel to have had to kill her own child. That would probably tear any mother apart inside."

"I can't imagine it either," he told her, stroking her hair, "Let's go up to our cabin. We can talk more there." He then put his arm around her waist and lead her to the elevator.

_**End Chapter 12:**_

_**A/N**_:_ I'd apologize for the long wait, but there's not really much I can say except that writer's block, work schedules, and my all around fucked up life got in the way. I'll try to update when I can, but I can't make any real promises on any sort of timeline._

_Now for an explanation: I'm straying from ME canon here, by having the Shinobi, allied with both the Alliance, and Aria, take out Cerberus, while Shepard goes after Dr. Kenson in the "Arrival" Mission. I'll also be adding in "Lair of the Shadow Broker", and "Overlord", before going into ME3. As a matter of fact, "Shadow Broker" will lead into the Shinobi getting the intel they need on Cerberus to take them out. I'm also trying my damnedest to get the Shinobi and the Biiju into a place where they can serve a major part in the final battle in ME3. I hated the ending to ME3, and I'm writing a better one in this story, which will consist of the Shinobi, and the Biiju taking on Reapers. As a matter of fact, You'll see your first Biiju vs. Reaper battle on Rannoch, as Kurama and Naruto take on the Reaper, not Shepard. I'm not wanting to spend much more time on ME2, as I really want to get into ME3 soon. I'd better get to writing more._

_**Coming Soon: Chapter 13.**_


	13. Chapter 13

Reaper Threat v2

Chapter 13.

_**The Citadel – Zakera Ward – Factory District**_

It didn't take a lot of work to track down "Fade", who just happened to be a disgraced C-sec officer named Harkin, at the factory district of Zakera Ward. Naruto, Garrus and Sasuke had made their way there by car. Now, the three were fighting their way through the place, taking out one patrol of Blue Suns after another.

"I wonder just how bad we've hurt their numbers over all the missions we've taken against the Blue Suns," Sasuke thinks out loud, "We must really be putting a damper on recruiting." His sharingan allows him to lead his target, a Blue Suns FENRIS mech, perfectly for the head shot.

"Between them, the Blood Pack and Eclipse, I doubt any of the merc bands are doing very well after all we've done to them," Naruto notes as he takes out a blue suns heavy trooper, "They're really not much better than cannon fodder."

"Maybe they can all join forces and call themselves the White Zetsu," the Uchiha joked, making Naruto laugh and miss his target.

"White Zetsu?" Garrus asks

"During the 4th shinobi war, there was this guy on Madara's side, called Zetsu. He had two completely independent halves, one white, and one black." Naruto explained as they rounded a corner, and Naruto headshot a grunt merc with his pistol, "Madara made thousands of clones of the white half, and sent them out to fight the entirety of the forces of all the Great Nations. They were really weak, and good for nothing more than cannon fodder, and to exhaust us for their Edo Tensei troops."

"Edo Tensei?"

"A resurrection Jutsu," Sasuke told the Turian, "with a sacrifice, Madara, or Kabuto, exactly, was able to resurrect any extremely capable warrior he wanted...and Kabuto had a bunch of sacrifices, from all of Orochimaru's hideouts. He resurrected some of the strongest, and most notorious warriors from the five great nations, including my brother, Itachi, who defeated Kabuto, and released the Edo Tensei jutsu."

"How did you manage to win this war?" Garrus inquires as he snipes a FENRIS mech.

"The Dobe here," Sasuke said, pointing to Naruto, "fought against Madara, who just happened to be our old sensei, Kakashi's old teammate, Obito, and a resurrected Madara Uchiha, along with Killer Bee from Kumo, Kakashi, and Gai. They held their own for a long time, and even went up against the resurrected Juubi, ten-tailed biiju, until the shinobi alliance gathered along with them. Before you ask, Naruto, I heard this from Kakashi, after I got back to Konoha."

"Tsunade said you won the war singlehanded," Garrus asked, "How did that come about?"

"Well, Granny Tsunade and the five Kage all had their hands full with the resurrected Madara, and would have all died, if it wasn't for the fact that Granny Tsunade isn't just the best medic in the whole world, but also the last of the Senju clan. Katsuyu, her slug summons, was able to bring her back from almost dead, and then also heal the Kages. They didn't get a chance to get into the fight with the Juubi, because they were carted to the headquarters, where medics continued to work to save Tsunade."

"Naruto helped the alliance come up with strategies that would confuse Madara, and Obito, as well as defeat the Juubi," Sasuke continued, "When they say he 'singlehandedly' won the war, they mean he was the turning point. Being the most unpredictable ninja on our world, he was able to think outside the box, and help the shinobi alliance defeat Madara, Obito, and the Juubi." Sasuke then turned his attention to the two heavy mechs that were aiming at the three warriors. With a few hand-signs, he unleashed a lightning storm on the two mechs that fried every circuit the machines had.

The three friends then ascended to the control room, where Naruto and Sasuke cornered Harkin, and chased him right into a forearm shot from Garrus. Garrus tried asking nicely for the information, but Harkin wouldn't budge, until the Turian knocked the rogue down and stood on his neck. After that, Harkin was singing like Rosemary Clooney on stage at the Kennedy Center. He set up a meeting between Naruto and Sidonis, in front of the Orbital Lounge.

Over the short car ride, the three continued to talk about Garrus' plans for revenge. Even Sasuke, who had taken the 'avenger' path a long time ago, tried to talk the sniper out of it. In the end, they left Garrus in his sniper's perch and went to speak to Sidonis.

"Look at this guy, Naruto," Sasuke stated, "He may not be in the grave, but he's pretty much killing himself with guilt. That's not living."

"Tell me about it," Naruto responded as he signaled Sidonis over, "You Sidonis?"

"Don't use that name," the Turian replied, "What do you want?"

"I'm a friend of Garrus, and..." Naruto began, but didn't get a chance to finish.

"Garrus? Is this some joke?" Sidonis questioned, but wound up making direct eye contact with Sasuke's sharingan, and then stuck in a genjutsu.

"Now, you will listen to me," the Uchiha said, "We're all that's keeping him from putting one right between those beady little eyes of yours. He's out to kill you, and we're hoping we can keep him from going that far. Now, I'll release this genjutsu, and you'll listen to my partner, ok?"

"You have my word," the turian replied, and Sasuke released the genjutsu.

"What do you want to say?" Sidonis asked Naruto.

"Tell me what happened on Omega," Naruto ordered, staying between Garrus and a prime shot at his target's skull.

"The Blue Suns and Blood pack got to me. They said they'd kill me if I didn't turn on Garrus," Sidonis explained, "The guilt's been killing me since I left Omega. I don't sleep at night. Food has no taste. Every time I close my eyes, I see their faces."

"He's already paying for what he did, Garrus," Naruto said over the radio, "What good will killing him do?"

"Tell Garrus," Sidonis started, "Now that I think of it, there's not much I can say to Garrus that would do much good, is there?"

"Just tell him to go," Garrus called back, "Just get out of here."

"He's giving you a second chance, Sidonis," Naruto told the Turian, "Don't waste it."

"I won't."

With those words spoken, Naruto and Sasuke walked back to the car. "Any word from Shepard?" Sasuke asked.

"She and Thane got to Kolyat just in time," the blonde sage replied, "I've been monitoring communications all this time. I need to thank Jane for showing me how these Omnitools work."

"Yeah," Sasuke chuckled, "There is NO going back to Konoha after this, is there?"

"Not for me, there isn't."

The two drove back up, and picked up Garrus, who, after a few minutes talk, was convinced that letting Sidonis live wasn't a mistake.

"Where are we going now?" Garrus asks.

"The Presidium," Naruto answered, "We're meeting Jane, Gaara, and Sakura there. Cerberus doesn't have any kind of bugs in the Councilor's office, so we're going to talk to Anderson about our plans for the Illusive Bastard."

"If we can get the Alliance on the plan, then we'll have not only the mercs, but also the Alliance forces to take care of any Cerberus fleets."

"What we need is reliable intel on where the Illusive Man is," Garrus notes, "There are few places where that kind of intelligence can be found. Only one I can think of is the Shadow Broker."

"That's a trump card that Jane wants to play after we finish off the Collectors," Naruto notes, "She has intel on where to find the Broker, and can give it to Dr. T'Soni on Ilium. From there, we can take down the Broker, and ransack his intelligence networks for what we want."

"Shrewd, Guys," Garrus smirked, "I like it."

_**Citadel – The Presidium – Councilor Anderson's Office.**_

"I see you guys handled your business," Shepard said, walking up and hugging Naruto, "And Bailey says you took down Fade, too. Seriously, Garrus, Harkin? He was just a drunk last time we met him."

"Well, he turned really bad afterwards," Garrus noted, "When, I have no idea. After the original Normandy went down, I went to Omega."

"Anyway, you've done the Citadel, and C-Sec a favor in taking him down," Anderson told the group, "Now, what is this plan you have in store for Cerberus?"

"I think you need to sit down for this one, Councilor," Gaara says, "We've got a lot to disccuss."

_**45 minutes later**_

"I'll say, this is really a grand plan you have for taking down Cerberus," Anderson states, "And you want to keep this under wraps until you get the intel you need, and take down the Collectors, right?"

"Yes, that should give you time to outfit as many shinobi as you can with armor and equipment for the raid," Gaara began.

"And get Admiral Hackett and the Fifth Fleet on board as well," Shepard added, "Cerberus will surely have fleets stationed all around the Illusive Man's location. That, or they think that we'll never find him, and have no security at all."

"Either way, we'll need the Fifth Fleet ready to go, and you say that Aria T'Loak is supplying technicians from Eclipse?"

"She hates the Illusive Man as much as the Alliance does. They keep involving themselves in business on Omega, and she wants them gone," Shepard added, "The Illusive Man has pissed off too many people in the galaxy to NOT take him down. Hell, if asked, I think we can get the Quarians to add some muscle to this little action. Tali says that they blew up one of the ships in the Migrant Fleet."

"I remember," Anderson sighed, "Grayson. Sanders told me what he'd done. I think they even experimented on him, implanting him with Reaper Tech. Word has it that he attacked the Grissom Academy not long ago...and didn't even look human."

"Why is Cerberus experimenting with Reaper tech?" Shepard asked, "That stuff is too dangerous to mess with. Don't they know about indoctrination?"

"I doubt the Illusive Man cares," comes a voice from the lift. The crew turned around to see Miranda Lawson and Jacob Taylor walk in, "All he cares for is results. Word has it he's looking for a way to control the Reapers."

"Miranda," Gaara says, "What brings you here."

"A lot of soul searching, and a few conclusions," the australian brunette answered, "After all, This team has done more to help me than Cerberus ever has, and I feel a deep connection to them, but mostly to you, Gaara. I will continue to play the part of the, what does Jack call me, Cerberus Cheerleader, until we take down the collectors, then I'm finished with them."

"I never liked them to begin with," Jacob stated, "But the pay was good, and where else can a soldier of my talents go, except maybe the Blue Suns."

"I've seen humans in Eclipse," Miranda joked, nudging Jacob in the ribs. After this exchange, the two sit down, Miranda snuggling in close to Gaara, who puts an arm around her shoulder.

"Anyway, Councilor," Gaara says, "Can we assume that we have Alliance backing for a mission to take down Cerberus?"

"I think it's long overdue," Anderson responded, "I'll get Hackett in on it. You finish off the Collectors, then gather the intel you need. We'll ready the Shinobi for battle, and have the Fifth Fleet ready to take down any Cerberus ships in the system. Also, tell Chief Williams that she is transferred to the Normandy. Unofficially, of course, until Cerberus is destroyed. Once that happens, you are welcome back to the Alliance with open arms, Shepard."

"Then take these," Shepard said, handing Anderson a handful of OSD's, "These discs contain our gun-camera footage from Freedom's Progress, Horizon, and the Collector's Ship. We'll supply more of the Derelict Reaper and the Collector's Base at a later date."

"Good luck, Shepard, and Good hunting."

_**Normandy SR-2 – Briefing Room – 2 hours later.**_

"Ok, here's where we're at," Shepard began, "We're all ready to rock, but we have one piece of equipment we still need."

"The Reaper IFF," Mordin noted, "Only way to get through Omega-4 Relay."

"Right. Now, I'm going to take two teams with me into the Derelict Reaper. My fire team will be Me, Garrus and Zaeed. Our advance team, going in before mine, will be Konoha Team 7. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, You three will be going in to whittle down any resistance you find in there, and clear a path to the IFF. Worst case scenario, we may only be able to get one team on, and you guys are some of the strongest we have, and have good teamwork. I'll relay to Sakura's hardsuit a picture of what we're looking for, since she's obviously the brains of the team."

Sakura giggled while Naruto and Sasuke pouted. "We won't let you down, Shepard."

"As always, I'll be monitoring communications with Joker here, until my team is ready to move in. Should anything happen that we can't move in, I'll contact you," Shepard continued her explanation, "Guys, this is crunch time. We're about ready to hit the Collectors, and hit them hard. If I were to estimate our chances right now, I'd say we're as ready as we can get. The only thing we need is that IFF. Team 7, are you ready?"

"You know it, Jane," Naruto smirked, "Teme, Sakura-chan?"

Sharingan eyes flared red. "You don't even have to ask, Dobe."

"We're ready to go, Commander," Sakura stated, "Leave it to us."

"Commander, We've just made the first jump. ETA to Derelict Reaper: 2 days," came Joker's voice on the intercomm.

"Good, Everyone, dismissed. Get some rest and stay loose," Shepard ordered the team.

"So, you're sending us in ahead of your team?" Naruto asks.

"Garrus told me how you three handled those Blood pack Krogan," Shepard said, "I think you can handle it. Plus, I want to see how a full shinobi team operates, and you three are it. Gaara will be with me in the cockpit, monitoring communications, since he knows shinobi battle tactics and can tell me what you guys are doing in there."

"We'll be kicking ass and not worrying about names," the blonde smiles, "But until then, there's only one ass I'm thinking about." He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her in close to him.

"Time and place, Mr. Uzumaki," Shepard grinned, "And this is neither. Well, Time, yes. Place, no. Not by a long shot."

"Then let's take this elsewhere." Naruto and Shepard retired to their cabin, as the Normandy sped toward the derelict reaper, where they could find the IFF they need to get to the Collectors' homeworld.

End Chapter 13

A/N: Ok. Derelict Reaper and IFF installation next time, then SUICIDE MISSION.

Next time: Chapter 14


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: I'm introducing a new idea to the fic here, that of the crew splitting forces, using the shuttle, to take care of multiple missions at one time. I was seriously thinking of letting Tali's loyalty mission be just Shepard, Tali and Ashley, and this idea just cemented the other idea in my head. Also this will come into play again because of other plot lines I'm working on, too, before ME3._

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Normandy SR-2: C.I.C.**_

Shepard had just finished talking to Tali in engineering. Apparently, the Quarian was in a bit of distress, seeing how she was being accused of Treason by her people's government. She was considering who to take with her to the Migrant Fleet when she stepped off the elevator, and saw a large group of crewmen gathered around the galaxy map, or what was the galaxy map, but now looked like a huge holographic display showing a fight of some sort. Crewman Henderson was walking around collecting bets. Shepard walked up to Ashley, who was standing near the back, and tapped her on the shoulder.

"What's this?" she asks of her friend, gesturing to the display, and the crowd.

"Naruto and Gaara are having a sparring match against Sakura and Sasuke in the Cargo Hold," Ash explained, "Edi is broadcasting it over the closed circuit screens on this deck, and the crew deck. Henderson decided to take bets."

"**Currently, there is a rather large betting pool on this match**," Edi interjected, "**Current odds favor Naruto and Gaara, but not by much. I've also had to slow down the frame rate of the broadcast by a considerable amount, seeing how fast the shinobi move**."

"Well, since we won't need the map for a few more minutes, EDI, continue the broadcast. It'll be good for morale," Shepard told the AI, then thought, "_meanwhile, I'm wondering if I should take Naruto to the Migrant Fleet._" She then walked up to the cockpit, where she sat down in the chair beside Joker.

"What's on your mind, Fearless?" Joker asked of his commander.

"Wondering something," Shepard replied, "Tali's got some trouble at the Migrant Fleet and needs our help. I'm wondering if taking Naruto with me would be a good idea."

"He's great in a fight," Joker adds, motioning to the screen in front of him, "But I doubt he's really the political type. If I had to choose, and I'm not, mind you, I'd take a shuttle to the Migrant Fleet, while we use the Normandy to go on to the Derelict Reaper, and get that IFF. You already said that Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke are the ones going in, right?"

"Yeah," she answered, "I'm thinking of taking Ash to the Migrant Fleet, while leaving everyone else on the Normandy to head to the Reaper. I still want a second fire team ready if the shinobi need help. Think maybe...Garrus, Zaeed, and Jack?"

"Switch out Zaeed for Mordin or Miranda. They may need a tech expert. Oh shit."

"What?" Shepard asked, as Joker motioned to the screen again. Naruto had hit a sage mode powered kick on Sasuke, only to get blasted back into a bulkhead by a chakra infused punch by Sakura. Shepard laughed a bit as Naruto just shrugged it off and went right back at his Uchiha friend. "Adams said I have an eye for talent, back on the SR-1," she said, "Seems I didn't know how much of one."

"They'll be ok on the mission," Joker tells her, "Just go take care of Tali's problems, and we'll meet you at the Migrant Fleet as soon as we're done. I have the coordinates."

"Ok, Joker," She responds, "I'm going to catch up to Naruto and then we'll head out in a couple of hours."

_**Normandy SR-2: Cargo Hold – 15 minutes later.**_

"Damn, guys," Naruto said to his friends, "In the last two years, you really did get better."

"I'm surprised you didn't tap into Kurama's chakra," Sasuke noted, "I was giving you everything I had. You're still not winded."

"Sage mode, Teme." Naruto then noticed Shepard coming out of the elevator. He gets up and starts walking toward her. "I'll catch up to you later."

"Just so you know," Jane tells all of them, "Your match was broadcast all over the ship. Crewman Yates won the betting pool that started up. She was the only one to bet on a draw. Man is the rest of the crew pissed. Naruto, we've got something to discuss." Naruto follows her to the elevator, and to their cabin.

_**20 minutes later**_

"So," Naruto says, "We're going to go on to the derelict reaper, while you, Ash and Tali take care of some business with Tali's people. You're taking a shuttle?"

"Yeah," Jane replies, "The reaper is too important to pass up, and Tali needs help. I figure that Ash and I will be enough, since we've been friends for so long."

"Let me give you something first," the blonde adds, "roll up your right sleeve." She does so, to reveal a special forces tattoo, that is given to most N7 graduates. Naruto puts a finger on the tattoo, and a series of markings appear around it.

"What is it?"

"It's a special seal," Naruto explained, "During my time away from Konoha, I decided to learn seals, seeing how my parents were both masters of the art. That seal will allow me to teleport to you, from anywhere. If you need help, just focus on the seal, and I'll find you."

_**Cargo Hold: 45 minutes later.**_

Shepard, Tali and Ashley stepped onto the shuttle, with Crewman Chiles as pilot. Everyone else watched as the shuttle took off from the hold and headed off toward the Migrant Fleet. Garrus then turned to the assembly. "We've still got a mission to perform," the Turian noted, "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, I'm going to want you to be ready when we get there. Joker, how far out are we?"

"15 minutes from the nearest mass relay, and then 2 hours jump time to the Derelict Reaper," Joker advised over the intercom.

"Guys, gear up. Miranda, Gaara and I will be your backup team, should you need it," Garrus told the shinobi. All nodded and went about preparing for the mission.

**Normandy SR-2: Armory**

"Garrus seemed troubled," Sakura noted, getting into her armor, "More so than normal."

"He and Jane have gone up against Reapers before, and know what we're up against," Naruto explains, "If I were in his place, I'd worry too. They told me some of the things that the Reapers can do to your mind."

"And we're going into one of these things?"

"I don't like it either," Sasuke says, "But apparently, we need that device to go after the Collectors. Don't worry, we can get through it. The Collectors have no real defenses against us, from what Naruto said of Horizon."

"They really had no defense against our jutsu," Naruto told his friends, "Which is why I want us going in there and blasting them with one jutsu after another. In large areas, go for area effect attacks, such as Sasuke's amaterasu, and my rasenshuriken. I'm leaving two clones on the ship in case I need some extra sage mode chakra."

"I've got plenty of long range jutsu," Sasuke tells his compatriot, as he hands the blonde his sword, "You being a wind user could find this more useful than I will." Naruto takes the blade and sets it behind his waist. All three shinobi look to the door as Garrus walks in the armory.

"You three ready?" the Turian inquires, only to receive a nod from the ninja, "Then get to the shuttle bay. I'll have a pilot ready to take you over on the other shuttle." Sasuke and Sakura head down to the shuttle bay, while Naruto stops by his alien comrade.

"Something wrong?" he queries, "You're edgier than usual."

"Just wishing I could have gone with Tali and Shepard," Garrus answers, "We were all close back on the SR-1."

"Think of it this way," Naruto tells Garrus, patting him on the back, "She left you here so she'd have someone she trusted to lead this team while she was away. Anyway, we'll get that device. Believe it." Garrus just laughs as Naruto walks away to the elevator.

**Derelict Reaper: 40 minutes later.**

"This is almost too easy," Sasuke notes as he releases a stream of lightning across the floor toward a pack of husks, "These things are just mindless zombies. Technological zombies, but zombies nonetheless."

"This is what the Reapers can do to you?" Sakura asks, "If they can do this to the population of a planet, then they'd have an almost limitless supply of foot soldiers for an extended campaign. They're tough to kill, but easy to figure out." She then pummels another crowd of the creatures with her chakra-infused blows. "Madara's Zetsu army was much more skilled than this, but the husks make up for it with numbers."

"Get back," Naruto tells his teammates, "I'll clear them out." He then hurls a rasenshuriken out toward the horde of enemies, expanding it as soon as it was right in the middle of them. The destructive jutsu ripped every husk and scion to shreds in a matter of seconds. Naruto looked out around the area, when Garrus's voice stopped them.

"Guys, look right in front of you," the Turian's voice came over their radio, "Those spikes you see out in the distance. Those are called 'Dragon's Teeth'. It's how the reapers make husks. These you're fighting now must be the Cerberus research team that was stationed here. The Illusive Man sent all these people to their deaths."

"_The more I know about him, the less I like him_," Naruto thought, then said, "Nothing we can do for them now, just more fuel to the fire for our future operations. EDI, are you recording our visual feeds?"

"**Of course I am, Naruto**," the AI answered, "**I'll have them all saved to my onboard data storage drives, and also to OSD's. I've been recording all of the missions since we started**."

"_Good,_" he thinks again, "_more evidence that can be used against them_."

"_**I like the way you think, Kit**_," Kurama tells the young man, "_**That information could get more races on board to put an end to Cerberus, but we're still going to be the ones to finish them off**_."

"_With more help from home, I hope_."

**Shinobi Homeworld – Land of Lightning – 5 Kage Conference**

"This information is troubling," Oonoki, the Tsuchikage, notes, "This group is doing all this to it's own people? I can see where they need to be brought down. The Hidden Stone will gladly help. I will gather my best shinobi to join a task force to take down Cerberus."

"Agreed," A, the Raikage, comments, "Tsunade, Admiral, you will have the assistance of the shinobi of the Hidden Cloud."

"And the Hidden Mist," came the reply of Mei Terumi, the Mizukage, "We will also lend our assistance with the Reapers, when the time comes."

"The Hidden Sand will join in as well," added Temari, the new Kazekage, just sworn in after Gaara left, "If this is what my brother is fighting against, then he needs our help. What do you need, Admiral Hackett?"

"We could use a force of your best shinobi to take on the forces of Cerberus, inside their base of operations," Admiral Steven Hackett explains, "Konoha's team is already working with my Commander Shepard. Tsunade has already offered the rest of the 'Konoha 12', as well as Kakashi Hatake, and Might Gai. A comparable force from your villages would be greatly appreciated. The Alliance will offer assistance in the form of technicians that will round out the force, as well as equipment that will allow your shinobi to better defend themselves from Cerberus weapons. I already have the schematics for the upgrades needed to allow your shinobi to use chakra in our already standard combat hardsuits. Naruto and his team are using them now. The technology was developed by Salarian scientist, Mordin Solus."

"I have seen this armor you speak of," Oonoki responded, "It looks quite formidable. The Shinobi Alliance will join with your Systems Alliance, Admiral Hackett."

"The Reapers won't know what hit them," Tsunade stated, "And neither will the Illusive Man."

"Our technicians are already setting up a planetary defense grid," Hackett concludes, "It will be manned by Alliance personnel, and will answer to me, as well as to the Five Kage."

"One last thing," A noted, "Bee has been in touch with the biiju that have currently revived. He said to tell Naruto that Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Saiken, Kokuo, and Choumei are ready and will be there to help with the Reapers. The last of the Biiju, Son Goku, the 4 Tails, hasn't revived yet, but will within the month. They are currently keeping to a smaller form, and out of sight until needed."

"Things are coming along," Hackett muses, "With your help, we can win the coming war."

**Derelict Reaper**

Team 7 had just passed through another doorway, and felt a jolt under their feet.

"Joker to Ground team."

"Go ahead," Sasuke stated.

"The reaper just put up kinetic barriers," the pilot advised, "The only way to get past them is to shut down the mass effect drive core."

"**I have already made a scan, and am updating your nav point**," EDI continued, "**However, once you take out the drive core, the reaper will start to fall into the brown dwarf under you**."

"Joker can get us out," Naruto replied, "We'll get that IFF, and shut down the drive core as fast as possible."

"Good luck, guys," came Gaara's voice.

As the team passed through the next door, they looked around to for any signs of opposition. Suddenly, two shots ring out, taking out two husks, climbing up behind the three ninja.

"Up there," points Sakura, showing the other two where to look. The team looks up to where she is pointing, to see a Geth standing there with a sniper rifle.

"Shinobi-Team 7," the geth said, then quickly left.

"Guys," Garrus asked over the radio, "I'm monitoring everything through your AV feeds, so answer one thing. Did that geth just speak?"

"And how did it know who you three were?" Gaara continued, "This is getting awkward."

"It leads me to wonder how the Geth get their information," Miranda comments.

"We'll figure it out later," Naruto told the team, "Right now, we need to go. Come on, Sasuke, Sakura."

**Migrant Fleet – Research ship: Alarei**.

Shepard, Tali and Ashley had just been through the first part of the trial, and found out why the quarian was being accused of treason. Now, anxious to find Tali's father on the geth-infested research ship, the three fight their way through the halls, looking for any sort of sign of what may have happened here. They came across several transport containers, which Tali used to send inactive geth parts to the ship. Tali explained everything about the nature of her sending these parts home. They also found several recordings that brought new light on the situation. Rael'Zorah was building geth and networking them to try new hacking techniques in hopes of taking control of the Geth once more, and retaking the Quarian homeworld of Rannoch.

**Derelict Reaper**

After fighting their way through several more rooms rull of husks and Scions, Team 7 reached a hallway where they found the device they were looking for. Sakura stored the device in a container on her hardsuit and they continued on through the next door, to see the Geth they had spotted earlier working on a nearby terminal. No sooner did the geth drop the field stopping the shinobi from entering, but it was then knocked out by husks.

"I don't know what that thing is up to," Naruto tells his friends, "But I need you two to grab it, while Kurama and I send a tailed beast ball into that drive core." Naruto then went into tailed beast form and started charging up the attack, while Sasuke and Sakura ran up and grabbed the geth, fighting through the few husks to get there, and back. When his friends were back behind him, he released the energy ball and it sailed straight into the Reaper's core, blowing it to bits.

"Grab on to me," Naruto told his friends, and they followed orders as he concentrated on one particular seal he left on the ship. The ninjas disappeared from the reaper, with the Geth in tow, reappearing in the cargo bay. "Garrus," the blonde called, "We're in the cargo bay, and we have an extra package. EDI, where is the best place to store it?"

"Store it in my AI core," EDI suggested, "I can erect further firewalls to keep it from hacking my systems, should Shepard decide to reactivate it."

"On our way," Sasuke stated, and the three headed to the AI core to drop off the geth, then to the armory to get out of their suits.

Migrant Fleet – Ship: Rayya, Tribunal Chamber.

Shepard had just made an empassioned speech to the Admiralty board in support of Tali, regaling them with the details of how she knows more about the Geth than anyone else on the fleet, and her part in defeating the Geth and Saren at the battle of the Citadel. This was more than enough to get the board to find no reason to convict Tali'Zorah of the charges against her. They then headed to the shuttle, where a message was waiting for them.

_ Shepard_

_ Shinobi have acquired Reaper IFF, and one further piece of "salvage". Will discuss further when you are back on board. On way to meet with you at Migrant Fleet coordinates.._

_ Garrus._

"_This should be interesting_," She thinks, while the shuttle takes off.

_End Chapter 14_

_Next time: Legion's Loyalty Mission, and the beginning of the Suicide Mission._


	15. Chapter 15

_Note: I'm going to really deviate from ME2 canon here, but Legion's loyalty mission will have a serious effect on the Geth now. Also, Naruto's going to learn Shepard's full name (My FemShep was named "Alexa J. Shepard" and was Spacer/War Hero in my playthrough, which is how I'm basing this FemShep.)_

_**Reaper Threat v2**_

_**Chapter 15**_

_**Normandy SR-2 – Comm/Conference room.**_

"_I don't get it_," Shepard thinks to herself, as she listens to Naruto and Sakura's description of events on the Derelict Reaper. Once the debrief was over, she turned to her blonde lover, and said, "Now, let me get this straight. Ash and I just got through defending Tali from charges of sending active Geth to the Migrant Fleet, and you three brought a, not only active, but INTACT Geth to the Normandy, and stored it in EDI's AI core?"

"That's pretty much it," Naruto replied, "For some odd reason, it knew who we were, and it was under attack from husks."

"You already said that the Geth that you knew were allied with the Reapers," Sakura began, "If that's the case, then why would reaper forces, in other words: the husks, attack a Geth? It may be nothing, but it also may require some form of investigation."

"Joker," Shepard called out, "How long till the Reaper IFF is installed?"

"**This is reaper tech, Shepard**," EDI answered, "**We are being incredibly careful with it, and I am going over it's programming line by line to discern any sort of threat to this ship. At this point, I anticipate it will be at the most 3 days till we can say that it is ready for use, and that is only AFTER I make sure that it's safe to turn on, through extensive simulations, as well as tests**."

"Best not take any chances with this thing, EDI," the commander replies, "During this time, we're going to see what the deal is with this Geth. Have Tali meet me at the AI core. Naruto, you're coming too."

"**Affirmative, Shepard. Tali will meet you there in 15 minutes**."

_**A.I. Core – 15 minutes later**_

"Did I hear right, that there's a Geth on this ship?" Tali'Zorah inquires.

"Something's been revealed, that we feel may require some form of investigation," Shepard explains, "That's why Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura brought it on board."

"This is insane," the Quarian remarks, "But if it gives us some sort of insight into how the Geth work now, it could be useful to us, and to the Migrant Fleet in the future."

"EDI, do you have defenses ready in case of hacking attack?"

"**I have erected multiple firewalls to protect against any cyber attack from the Geth**," EDI reports, "**The switch is at your command.**"

"Ok, I'm waking this thing up," Shepard commented as she hit a few buttons on her Omni-tool. The Geth shook for a moment, then stood as the light in it's head started to glow. She then asked the A.I., "Do you know who we are?"

"Shepard-Commander, Creator-Tali'Zorah, and Naruto-Shinobi," the Geth answered, "Crew of Scout/Frigate class ship, _Normandy_."

"How do you know us?" Naruto asks.

"We know of you," the Geth replied, "We have never met you."

"But, we have met other Geth," Tali retorted, "Like on Haestrom, and at the Citadel."

"We have never been to Haestrom or the Citadel," the Geth responded, "We only know of you from extranet archived stories, and reputation on Omega. The Geth you have encountered there must be the heretics."

"Heretics?" Shepard asks, "That sounds like a religious designation."

"Geth make our own future. Heretics ask the old machine to give them the future. Those geth are the heretics."

"Wait wait wait," Tali said, "Old machine? You mean the Reaper?"

"Reaper: A term used by the Protheans to describe their coming destruction. Geth simply call them the Old Machines."

"So, there are geth that don't worship Reapers?" from Shepard.

"Numerous. Heretic Geth Platforms wished to leave geth collective. We arrived at consensus to allow them to leave. However, there are billions of geth platforms that do not, as you put it, 'Worship' the Old Machines."

"Hang on a minute," Naruto started, "You said that the Geth make their own future. What future are you talking about?"

"Ours."

"Does this future you are building involve organics in any way?" Tali queried.

"Only if organics involve themselves in it. We wish no enmity with organic life. The Old Machines have targeted Geth as well. We were looking for information on the old machines when Shinobi-Team 7 found us."

"What kind of information?" asked Tali.

"The Old Machines gave the Heretic Geth a virus that would make Geth follow their logic, and 'worship' the old machines. That would put all Geth at odds with all organics. We wish to stop this. Geth wish to build our own future, not have future hijacked by the Old Machines."

"This is a lot to take in," the Quarian said, and walked out of the A.I. Core, "Shepard, I'm going to have to think about this for a while. From what this Geth is saying, I'm going to assume that there may be a peaceful solution to returning to our home world. I have a lot to think about."

"Ok, Tali, take your time," Shepard answered, and then turned back to the Geth, "Where is this virus?"

"In a heretic station in the 'Sea of Storms'. We can provide coordinates."

"Jane," Naruto says, "If what I'm thinking is true, then you may want to take Sasuke into the Heretic station. His lightning jutsu will short out any geth that attack you, to say nothing of his Sharingan being able to perfectly read their attacks. He'd be the perfect teammate for going up against these Geth."

"Good point," She responds, then turns to the Geth, "Are you saying you want to join us?"

"There is an old proverb to humans: '_The enemy of my enemy is my friend_'. So, yes, we wish to join you."

"What do we call you?" she asks.

"Geth."

"What is the name of the individual in front of us?" Naruto asks the Geth.

"There is no individual. We are all Geth. There are 1,183 programs present in this mobile platform."

"**My name is Legion, for we are many**," Chimed in EDI.

"Chrisitan Bible, Book of Mark, Chapter 5, Verse 9. This is an appropriate analogy. We are Legion, a Platform of the Geth, and we will integrate into the crew of the Normandy, and provide coordinates for the Heretic station."

"Joker, get us to the Sea of Storms," Shepard ordered, "What is our ETA?"

"20 minutes from a mass relay, Commander, and 5 hours jump time to the Sea of Storms," Joker called back.

"**I am currently 20% finished scanning the Reaper IFF's programming code**," EDI reports, "**By the time you finish this mission, we may be ready to begin testing and installation.**"

Jane turned to leave the A.I. Core, and Naruto walked out with her. He could tell by her expression that something was brewing behind those seas of green she called her eyes. He put his arm around her waist and asked, "What's on your mind?" She just pointed with her thumb back toward the core.

"That," she replies, "Could a peaceful return of the Quarians to their home world be this easy? It's enough to give someone a migraine."

"Don't know, Jane. I never was good at playing politics. The only person that I knew that was great at is Hinata's father, Hiashi. That man was a political powerhouse, and could easily sway the council in Konoha I was better on the battlefield than the boardroom. Think Anderson could bring up the idea?"

"Him or the Asari councilor, maybe. Asari were always better at negotiations than anyone else in the galaxy." The two entered the elevator, but didn't choose a destination yet.

"Then have Tali send a message to the Asari councilor, with a recording of our conversation with Legion. This is an opportunity that we can't pass up. Quarians and Geth together could be a bonus against the Reapers. Tali knows Quarian politics, so she can give them a heads up on which admirals to look out for."

"We can do that after we finish off the Collectors," Shepard noted, "But for now, let's just take this one thing at a time. We're so close to finishing this. EDI, have Sasuke meet me and Legion in the C.I.C. In 5 hours. I need a nap. Tali's right. This is a lot to take in."

"I'm with you Jane."

"Alexa."

"Huh?" This, to say the least confused Naruto a bit.

"My first name is actually Alexa. Full name is Alexa Jane Shepard."

"Commander, you have an incoming call from the Alliance Dreadnaught, _Orizaba_. We may have to put off that trip to the Sea of Storms for a while," Joker said over the comm, "Admiral Hackett and Captain Shepard want to speak to you in person. The ship's 10 minutes out."

"Captain Shepard?" Naruto asks.

"My mother, Captain Hannah Shepard," Alexa answers, "I guess she finally got that Captain promotion. Hell, with her service record, I'm surprised she's not wearing 2 stars by now."

"What about your Dad?"

"Died during the Skyllian Blitz, at Mendoir," she replied, "He was a Marine. Mom's fleet through and through. She was really proud when I graduated from N7 training." She hit the button to take them to the Command deck, and the two walked up to the cockpit. "Put the call on, Joker," she told the pilot.

"Captain Shepard to the SR-2 Normandy," the voice called.

"This is Commander Alexa J. Shepard of the SR-2 Normandy," Shepard called back, "We stand by to receive you and Admiral Hackett." She then turned to Joker and EDI. "Are all of TIM's insects off this ship?"

"**Have been since Illium**," EDI reported, "**Miranda saw to it personally**."

"Ok," Shepard noted, "Let's dock smoothly with the _Orizaba_, and give the Captain and Admiral permission to board. Time for you to meet the family, Naruto."

"_Good thing I don't have to fight a reanimated corpse or a giant fox to meet this one_," he thinks.

"_**Oh Ha Ha,**_" Kurama thought back, "_**Everyone's a comedian.**_"

"Something wrong," she asked.

"Nothing. Just picking at the giant fox in my head."

Joker brought the Normandy in for a smooth docking maneuver and soon, Shepard and Naruto stood at the airlock. When the door finally opened, an older woman who bore a striking resemblance to Shepard stood there with an older man wearing 4 stars on his uniform collars. "Permission to come aboard?" the man says,

"Permission granted, Admiral," Shepard replied, "Welcome to the SR-2."

"How in the world are you still alive?" the Captain asked, "I heard you got spaced with the original Normandy."

"I did," Alexa explained, "I can give you a more detailed explanation in the conference room. Admiral Hackett, Mom, this is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze."

"A pleasure to meet you, Naruto," Captain Shepard told the young Shinobi.

"I have some news for you from home," Hackett informed the Ninja, "Almost all of the Tailed Beasts have revived except for Son Goku, the 4-tails. He will revive with in the month. All of them are standing by until needed, and the five great nations have agreed not to seal them. The days of Jinchuriki are no more. The only ones left are you and Bee."

"_**I almost feel sorry for the Reapers now,**_" Kurama thinks to Naruto, "_**To have to deal with all nine tailed beasts, their chances for success aren't so good now**_."

"_Things are looking up, then_."

"This way," Alexa said as she lead them to the conference room. Naruto walked beside her, and whispered, "Now I know where you get your looks from."

"Oh hush," she whispered back, nudging him in the ribs.

_**45 minutes later.**_

"Ok, EDI, discontinue the feed," Shepard tells the AI, and then turns to her mother and the admiral, "There you have it. Every bit of evidence we've been able to put together. Councilor Anderson obviously showed you the gun-camera footage that we gave him from Freedom's Progress, Horizon, and the Collector Ship. This comes from a Derelict Reaper that my 3 shinobi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, infiltrated to gain access to an IFF that will allow us to jump the Omega-4 relay safely. Our techs are currently working on making the device safe for use."

"And your project to take out Cerberus?" Hackett asks.

"Progressing," The Commander reports, "We've got some information we can use to our advantage, along side Liara T'Soni on Illium. This will lead us to the Shadow Broker. Then we can take him down, and use his information networks to lead us to the Illusive Man himself. We plan on doing this after we finish with the Collectors."

"We've got a task force of shinobi from Naruto's home world preparing at Arcturus station," Hackett tells them, then proceeds to name off some of the ones coming.

"You got the best from all 5 great nations," Naruto said, "I remember them all from the 4th Great Ninja War. Them, plus the Konoha 12, AND Kakashi and Gai-senseis. This will make Cerberus forces wet themselves in fear. I'm surprised, though, that Old Man Oonoki is letting Kurotsuchi in on this mission. She is his granddaughter, after all. A is sending Darui, C, Omoi and Karui, and Mei is sending Chojirou, Ao, and the new 7 swordsmen, and Temari is sending Kankurou, and his newly formed puppet master corp."

"Looks like we got here in time," comes a voice from the door, as Gaara, Sasuke and Sakura joined in.

"Admiral, Captain," Naruto says, as he points his friends out, "Allow me to introduce, Gaara of the Desert, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, my teammates and friends."

"A pleasure," Captain Shepard says, shaking their hands, "I saw your footage from the reaper. I am impressed at your strength at such a young age."

"Tsunade explained to me," Hackett told the Captain, "That these kids start out their careers young, beginning the Academy at 8, and starting to take missions at 12."

"Anyway," Captain Shepard said, "Alexa Jane Shepard, I do want to talk to you and Naruto in private after this meeting."

"Go on ahead, Hannah," Hackett advised, "Have a moment with your daughter. We're done here anyway. Sasuke, can you and your friends show me back out?"

"Of course, Admiral," Sasuke replied, then showed Hackett out of the room, and to the Airlock, "We'll catch up in a minute, Dobe."

"You need to be ready to go on a mission in a few hours, Sasuke," Naruto retorted, "We're hitting a Geth base soon, and want you to bring the lightning."

"A Geth base?" Captain Shepard inquired.

"We received information that the Geth that attacked the Citadel 2 years ago were a splinter faction," Alexa explained, "We're going to take out this splinter group. Hopefully, with that done, we can open negotiations with the Geth to get the Quarians back onto their home world. Right now, that really depends on how we can deal with Daro'Xen and Han'Gerrell, two members of the Quarian Admiralty Board. They seem to favor going to war with the Geth, and with the Reapers coming, that's something I don't want to think about."

"Anyway, Alexa," Hannah begins, "How did you meet Mr. Uzumaki here?"

"Now that's a funny story," Naruto begins, and then tells her all about how they met, and about the prank war that got them as close as they are.

"Well, you make a great couple," the Captain comments, "And you seem happy now. Admiral Hackett didn't tell you, so I will. As of right now, you are unofficially reinstated to the Alliance Navy, Alexa, and promoted to Captain. Your status as a Spectre does come first, but until your mission to take out the Collectors and Cerberus is finished, your reinstatement is only unofficial. I'm still very proud of you. Keep doing what you're doing." She got up and walked over to the door, then turned and handed Shepard a data disk. "Watch this after you finish the collectors," she says, "And please, don't get up. I can see myself to the airlock. Good luck, Alexa. Come back safely." That said, Captain Shepard walks out of the room.

"Joker," Shepard asked, "How far out are we now from the relay?"

"This detour put us 30 minutes out from the nearest mass relay," Joker reported, "And still 5 hours from the Sea of Storms. We've broken dock from the _Orizaba_, and are en route to the relay now."

"Good," she said, "I'm going to my cabin for a few hours."

_**Normandy SR-2 – Cockpit – 5 hours later**_.

"You do realize that it's only our heat that's masked," Joker tells the Geth, "They can still look out a window and see us."

"Windows are structural weaknesses," Legion states, "Geth do not use them. Approach at heading 1-1-0." All the while, Joker was making stiff "Robot" motions with his arms, to the chagrin of Shepard.

"Legion, how many geth programs are in that base?" Shepard inquires.

"Unknown. Geth data storage drives can hold millions of zetabytes worth of information, so there could be billions of Geth programs on each drive, and an unknown number of drives. Geth primarily exist as data on these networked drives. What you remember fighting are programs uploaded to a mobile platform, much like we are. Mobile platforms are built as necessary, but we primarily exist as data."

"_More to think about when it comes to Rannoch_," Shepard thinks, then asks, "What kind of countermeasures are necessary to ensure infiltration?"

"We are using what you humans would call a data bomb on their network, clogging it with useless data," Legion answered.

"Using that much data to confuse entities that exist as data," Sasuke comments, "That sounds like a strategy Naruto would use, only he would use thousands of shadow clones to confuse or disorient an enemy."

"Just how many of those clones can he make at one time?" Joker asks the Uchiha.

"I've personally seen him use upwards of 2000 at one time in one battle. That was in the Chunin exams against Gaara. Of course, he was 12 at that time. He's gotten a lot better since then." Joker just whistled at this news. "He hasn't really used the 'Spam an army of shadow clones' strategy a lot since he gained Sage mode, and befriended Kurama," Sasuke continues to explain, "He has become an excellent shinobi over the years."

"You would know," Naruto says as he walks up, "You fought me more than anyone else has." He then puts a hand on Shepard's shoulder, and tells her, "I'm going to stay up here while you're in the geth base."

"Going to monitor communications?"

"Yeah, and try to keep from going insane while you're out there."

"We're docked with the station," Joker reports, "You guys can go when you're ready."

**Geth Base – 15 minutes later.**

"Shepard-Commander," Legion began, "We have just come to a realization. The virus can be repurposed to turn the Heretics back from worshiping the Old Machines. We are capable of rewriting the virus ourselves, once we reach the data storage terminal where it is stored."

"Would they accept any sort of peace agreement that we may be able to broker between Geth and the Quarians?"

"They will accept our logic, and the idea of peace with organics, the Creators included."

**Normandy SR-2 Bridge**

"If they rewrite these geth," Tali comments, standing by Naruto, "Then the geth will be stronger. We won't stand a chance if the Admiralty Board votes for war."

"If we can get a peace agreement between your people and the Geth," Naruto responds, "Then having the Geth around will be a major boost when the Reapers get here."

"You and Shepard already talked about that option?" this from Joker.

"Yeah, before she left for the base."

"What do you need me to do?" asked Tali.

"Contact the Asari councilor, once we're done with the Collectors. Give her a heads up on Quarian Politics, and which admirals would be best to approach."

**Geth Base**

Shepard and party had made their way through the base, with Legion giving explanations on how the Geth operated as a collective consciousness, along the way. They had faced remarkably little resistance from the Geth during their incursion. That is, until Legion began his upload into the geth terminal where the virus was being held. It is at this time that numerous geth start pouring out of different chambers in the station, and closing in on the Normandy party. Legion continued his upload while Shepard and Sasuke took down the geth attackers. Shepards's disruptor ammo, and Sasuke's lightning chakra wore down the attackers' numbers, destroying one mobile platform after another.

"Upload complete," Legion reported, "Shepard-Commander, we have decided that you should choose. Do we delete the heretics, or do we reintegrate them into Geth's consensus?"

"Since we've got a plan for a peace process," Shepard begins, "repurpose their virus, Legion. The Geth will be a big help when the Reapers get here."

"Done," Legion replied, "We should leave now. The virus signal will be transmitted by Electro-magnetic pulse, and the inside of this station is not shielded against it."

It took Shepard and Company only a couple of minutes to fight their way to an exit where Joker picked them up in the Normandy. The ship then left as quickly as possible, avoiding the explosion that rocketed through the station, sending the EMP signal to the heretic geth platforms.

_**Normandy SR-2 – Captain's Quarters – 2 hours later.**_

Shepard sat at her desk, reading the contents of the OSD that her mother had given her. "_Dr. Amanda Kenson_," she thinks, "_A project involving Reaper Tech, and in Batarian controlled space, too. This could get ugly_."

"That the disk your mother gave you?" Naruto asked as he walked up behind her.

"Yeah," she replied, "This could get really ugly. This Dr. Kenson is being held on a Batarian prison planet, and was involved in some project involving Reaper tech."

"You said it before. One thing at a time. We're close to finishing off the Collectors. EDI should have the IFF finished soon."

"Hackett wants me to go after this Doctor alone. I'm thinking that I could do this while you guys go after the Illusive Man."

"If that's the case," Naruto says, "Then why don't you come with me. I just had a nice talk with Jacob in the Armory, and we found something that you might be interested in."

"Oh? This should be good." Shepard then followed Naruto into the lift to the C.I.C. She could see the almost mischievous glint in his eyes, that showed he was planning something.

_**10 minutes later – Armory**_

Naruto opens up a locker to reveal a full suit of Cerberus combat armor. "Since we don't want this coming back on the Alliance," he explains, "I thought that you could use this suit of Cerberus armor, and one of the shuttles. While we're taking out the Illusive Man on his station, We'll also have a strike team board a Cerberus cruiser, to come pick you up. That way, the Normandy doesn't get involved, thus, you were never there."

"And we scrap the Cerberus cruiser once the Normandy picks us up in another system. We can blame it on a rogue Cerberus op."

"I can forge the documents myself," came a voice from behind them. Shepard and Naruto turn around to see Miranda walking up with Jacob. "And," she continues, "Since Cerberus will be effectively destroyed, then we can say that the Alliance destroyed the Cerberus ship and personnel that perpetrated the attack on the Batarian system."

"Sneaky," Shepard muses, "I like it. We'll get to it right after we deal wth the Collectors. Get started on the documentation, Miranda."

"**Shepard,**" EDI chimed in, "**The Reaper IFF is ready for use. My screening the device line by line of code was especially helpful, as we found code in the system that would have alerted the Collectors to our position. As it stands now, we have the element of surprise**."

"Ok," Shepard tells the AI, "Advise all non-combat personnel that they have shore leave on Omega until we're done. I don't want to place them in danger, that includes Doctor Chakwas, Engineers Daniels and Donnelly, and Kelly Chambers. They can leave on a shuttle. Crewman Yates will pilot the shuttle. Emphasize that NO Cerberus uniforms are to be worn. Civilian clothes only."

"**Done**," EDI advised, "**Shuttle will leave when we get close to Omega. We are currently 12 hours away from Omega. All preparations have been made. I suggest getting some rest."**

"She's not joking, Commander," Joker added, "We're going to be marching into Hell. It's best if we go in at 100%."

"Noted," Shepard replied, "Where are the other Shinobi?"

"**Sasuke is relaxing in the starboard observation deck**," EDI reported, "**Gaara is in Miranda's office, reading, and Sakura is in the med-bay with Doctor Chakwas, and Thane**."

"Thane?" she asks, "Is his Kepral's Syndrome acting up?"

"You'd have to ask Sakura," Joker answered, "She may be pulling another Shinobi medical miracle, like they did with Tali."

"If anyone can, it's Sakura," Naruto noted, "She was Grandma Tsunade's apprentice, after all."

_**Engineering – Same time**_

"You look like a Quarian with something on her mind," Garrus Vakarian asks of his teammate and friend.

"I've got a lot to think about," Tali'Zorah responds, "Not only this possibility for a peaceful return to Rannoch. I had another bombshell dropped on me before we left the Migrant Fleet."

"What was it?" the Turian inquired.

_**Flashback – Migrant Fleet – Right after the trial.**_

"Tali," Admiral Shala'Raan began, "I had heard a rumor that you had been sighted out of your suit. How did you manage this?"

"You see, Admiral," Tali answered, "I had come across a planet where the people there are capable of many medical miracles. They were able to boost my immune system, permanently, to where I don't need the suit."

"Could they replicate this process?"

"It was difficult, Aunt Shala. It took me 3 days under observation to acclimate to the changes. Plus, to replicate this process for all Quarians would be logistically impossible. Tsunade and Sakura don't have an infinite supply of Chakra, and there's over 17 million Quarians in this fleet. I could ask if there are any sort of herbal or natural remedies that could work instead."

"That would be helpful, Tali," Raan responded, "Now, one last question. Your father's death left an opening in the Admiralty Board. You are our foremost expert on the Geth. If asked, would you be willing to accept the position?"

"If asked, I would be honored."

_**Flashback End.**_

"The board just sent me a message," Tali explained to Garrus, "They made the offer. As an expert on the Geth, they want my expertise, should they vote to go to war. However, I'm working with Shepard on getting together a peace process to return my people to our home world."

"So, did you accept the offer?"

"I did, with the provision that this is not official until we finish our work on the Normandy. That means the Collectors, and Cerberus."

"Returning your people to the home world after 300 years," Garrus whistles, "That's a major undertaking."

"I know, Garrus," Tali responds, "And I've got so much to think about here that it's giving me a headache that would make even Kaidan cringe, and you remember how bad his headaches were from the L-2 implant."

"Well, if anyone can pull it off, Tali, I think it's you."

"Thank you, Garrus. That means a lot to me."

_**End Chapter**_

_**Next time on Reaper Threat v2: The Suicide Mission gets under way.**_

_A/N: Ok, I got the idea for a Tali/Garrus pairing from a scene in ME3, where I walked in on them in the Main Battery of the Normandy. _

_One thing that bothered me about Mass Effect is that Shepard can save the ENTIRE FUCKING GALAXY on numerous occasions, and CAN'T GET A PROMOTION TO CAPTAIN? What the hell? I thought the Military was a meritocracy, and what better way to rise through the ranks than by SAVING THE ENTIRE DAMN GALAXY._

_Anyway, I was so late in getting this one out, because I was getting my ideas together through another play through of ME2 and 3. Still getting more and more ideas, so expect me to take my time in getting these chapters out. It takes me a while to get my ideas to a point where it's feasible to write. As it stands, I have multiple scenes running in my head from various points in both games, and I have to focus on certain points (ie: Suicide Mission, Overlord, Lair of the Shadow Broker, Arrival), to get through with ME2, so I can get into ME3 ASAP._


	16. Chapter 16

**Reaper Threat v2**

**Chapter 16:**

_**Omega Nebula – Sahabarik System – Normandy SR-2 – Bridge.**_

The shuttle carrying the non-combat crew members had just left the cargo hold, and Shepard was now standing behind Joker on the bridge of the ship.

The previous 12 hours went by way too quickly, as she had spent them with Naruto. Their times together had helped to keep her focused, yet calm, and collected. She didn't remember a time since Kaidan had died on Virmire that she had felt like she did around the blonde shinobi. Now, this same man was standing with her as Joker prepared the ship to make the jump at the Omega-4 mass relay. They both listened as Tali and Jacob made reports of the ships drive systems, which Joker quickly responded to, with help from EDI.

In order for her to be able to oversee the installation of the Reaper IFF, EDI had to have her software shackles removed, which also had the effect of boosting the ships ability to respond to new situations by over 80%. The helmsman and the AI worked as a seamless pair, guiding the frigate through the debris field on the other side of the relay.

It's at this time that an alarm klaxon sounds. "**Shepard, we have an intruder in the cargo hold,**" EDI reports, "**It seems that the Collectors have some sort of AI driven systems that work as patrol fighters. One of them just infiltrated the ship**."

"I'll take a team and..." Shepard began, but was cut off by Naruto.

"You're needed on the bridge, Alexa," he tells her, "Let me take Garrus and Grunt, and we'll deal with it."

"No heavy AOE attacks, Naruto," she reponds, "We don't want to blow up from the inside when you take that thing out."

"Ok, no Biiju power. I get it," he says and runs off to the lift.

"**Garrus and Grunt will meet you at the lift, Naruto,**" EDI told the shinobi as he ran.

"I'll say this about him," Joker mused, "He's not lacking for confidence."

"He'll do fine," Shepard noted, "Just get us to that base."

"You got it, Commander."

_**Cargo Hold**_

"What the hell is that thing?" Garrus Vakarian asks as he, Naruto and Grunt stepped out of the lift into the hold.

"Target Practice," Grunt retorted as he lifted up his M-300 Claymore shotgun up to his shoulder and fired off a few rounds.

"You would say that, Grunt," Garrus laughed as he shouldered his assault rifle, selected disruptor ammo, and let loose a burst.

"Just break it's shields," Naruto tells his teammates, "I have an idea."

"Would this idea involve that K-bar you have in your hand?" Grunt asked as he watched Naruto let loose a volley from his M-6 Carnifex one handed.

"That it would. Just get through the damn thing's shields." He then checks his storage compartment on his armor and found the stock of explosive notes inside. He attached them, one over the other, to the knife's handle.

"Shields are down," Garrus reported, "Do what you have to, Naruto. We'll back you up!"

That said, Naruto created two shadow clones and then used a substitution jutsu to change positions with a storage crate in the hold. His clones jumped into action, firing off shot after shot to distract the Oculus fighter, while Naruto himself snuck up and cut a triangle shaped hole in the armor, by enhancing the K-bar with wind chakra. He then drives the blade deep into the machine's insides, and put enough chakra into the explosive tags to set them all off.

"Take Cover!" Naruto ordered as his team took shelter behind a few crates, and the Oculus's frame seemed to expand, and then drop harmlessly to the floor. "Alexa," he reports over the radio, "Intruder dealt with. We're on our way up."

"Got it, Naruto. Good work."

_**Bridge. 5 minutes later**_

"There it is," Miranda noted, "The Collector Base."

"And who knows how many of our colonists in there," Shepard reminded her.

"Looks like they're sending out an old friend to meet us," Joker comments as they watch the same ship they boarded not long ago coming right at them."

"Let's show these bastards our new teeth," Shepard orders, "Fire the main gun."

"With pleasure," the helmsman replied as the Thanix cannon dropped down from the underbelly of the ship, and fired, sending a molten projectile of Titanium/Tungsten alloy right at the enemy vessel, scoring a direct hit, and disabling the collector ship's own weapons. "How do you like THAT, you sons of bitches?" Joker yelled out.

"Hit 'em again, Joker. Finish them off."

"Gladly. Hang on, this is gonna be a wild ride." Joker took the ship into a steep climb, and then made a sharp 180 degree turn, and fired once again at the collector ship, shearing it in half, and causing the enemy vessel to explode. The explosion rocked the Normandy as it passed by the expanding debris field.

"**Mass effect field generators offline**," EDI reported, "**Prepare for crash landing.**"

"See if you can bring them back online, EDI," Joker asked.

"**I cannot bring them back online in time to prevent a hard landing, Jeff**," EDI replied, "**All hands, prepare for crash landing on the surface of the collector base**." The new Silaris plating held, and the crew survived the landing.

"Well, we knew this was likely a one way trip," Miranda commented as she got up.

"I'm not going to give up yet," Naruto told her, "And neither should you."

"Joker, do the collectors know where we landed?" Shepard asked.

"**I cannot detect any exterior sensors,**" EDI advised, "**It is likely that the collectors did not anticipate anyone being able to follow them here.**"

"I can get us back up and running," Joker adds, "We'll be safe here. You guys go do what you do best."

_**Briefing/Comm room**_

The tension in the room could be cut with a sword when Shepard walked in the room with Naruto and Miranda. Everyone was preparing their weapons, and making themselves ready for the mission in ways that only they knew how.

"This isn't how we planned this, but this is where we're at," Shepard said, "EDI, bring up your scans." The AI complied and a 3d schematic of the entire base was made visible.

"You should be able to overload their systems if you get to the main control center, here," EDI reported, showing the point on the map.

"That means going through this large area here, right past this massive energy signature," Jacob added.

"That's the central chamber. If any of our colonists are still alive, they'll be there."

"There are two different paths you can take to get there, Shepard," EDI finished.

"Then we split our forces," Sakura commented, "That way, the Collectors have to do so, as well, making the way easier for both teams to get through."

"Won't work," Miranda noted, "The door to both chambers are sealed from the other side."

"It's not a fortress, there has to be a way," Sasuke stated, "There, that path." He pointed out an ventilation shaft that lead between both, and emptied into the chamber where both paths converged.

"That could work, but you'd need to send a tech specialist," Miranda added, "Shepard, who do we send?"

"Legion. He can hack through anything," Shepard said, after a moment's thought.

"Acknowledged," Legion replied, readying his sniper rifle.

"Who'll lead the second fire team?" inquired Gaara.

"It would have to be someone who commands respect through experience," Shepard noted, "So Garrus will lead the second team."

"Gladly, Commander." Vakarian said with the Turian equivalent of a smirk.

"I don't know what we'll find in there," Shepard began, "But it sure as hell won't be easy. We've lost good people, we may lose more. What's really important is this. NOT ONE MORE. That's what we're fighting for. The collectors want to know what we're made of? I say we show 'em. On our terms. Let's get in there, and bring our people home. I'll only take two people on my team. Naruto, you're with me. So is Samara. Everyone be careful."

_**Collector Base**_

Both teams filed out of the Normandy, looks of stern resolve on their faces. Legion entered the exhaust port, and the operation was underway.

Naruto used his omni-tool to monitor transmissions from the other team, to get a good idea for their progress. Shepard had set everyone's ammo to incendiary. Not far into the base, they came across their first opposition. All three team members shouldered assault rifles and started firing.

"Blaze Style: Kagutsuchi!" came Sasuke's voice over the radio.

"He's really letting them have it," the blonde said, "If he's using blaze style, that means he's using the mangekyo sharingan."

"Path is blocked, Shepard," came Legion's voice, "Need to find a release valve to let us through."

"Shit," she thought aloud, "We're on our way, Legion." She found the release valve and hit it with her omni tool.

"Sand Burial," came the calm voice of Gaara over the radio.

"Perfect," that voice belonged to Garrus.

"They're progressing just fine," Naruto told Shepard as they continued to fight their way through the base, releasing valves along the way to let Legion through.

"Shepard, Praetorian!" Samara shouted, unloading another thermal clip at the monstrous collector creation that blocked their way to the final release valve.

"Not for long," Naruto tells the Asari, "Cover me." He is then surrounded in the golden aura that signaled his Biiju form. "_Let's do this, Kurama_," he thinks.

"_**With you 100% Kit**_," the fox thinks back, "_**What do you say, a Biijudama?**_"

"_Not yet, we may need that later. How about a Biiju-powered Rasenshuriken?_"

"_**Just as good**_," Kurama thought as Naruto raised up one hand and the spiraling shuriken of pure wind power appeared in his hand.

"Goddess, boy," Samara said with a shock, "What is that?"

"A surprise for the collectors," Naruto said, "Wind Style: RASENSHURIKEN!" He hurled the jutsu at the Praetorian, and it struck dead center, before expanding to engulf the rest of the Collectors in the blast wave. When the winds had died down, the team ran up, and released the last valve.

Legion entered the chamber to be met by two collectors, which he promptly shot in the head and went about his business of letting the two teams in. Once the doors were sealed behind the team, Shepard checked on everyone, and surprisingly, hardly anyone had a scratch. Only thing strange was the diamond shaped mark on Sakura's head.

"You released the seal?" Naruto asked.

"Seal?" from Shepard.

"That diamond mark on her head," Sasuke explained, "It's a seal that's been gathering chakra since the end of the 4th great Ninja war. Sakura released the seal during the battle, and summoned Katsuyu to keep us all healthy while we fought through there."

"These shinobi never cease to amaze me," Samara commented.

"Shepard," Miranda cut in, "You need to see this. I think we just found the missing colonists. Well, about 50 of them, at least. I think they're from Horizon."

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," Naruto calmly stated as 100 clones appeared, and started pulling the colonists from their pods.

"Thank God you got here in time," one of them said, "I was afraid we'd all wind up like the others."

"What happened here?" Jacob asked of the colonist.

"Those swarms of robots melted the others' bodies into some sort of gray liquid and then pumped it through those tubes," she explained, "I was afraid we'd be next."

"Not on our watch," Sasuke said, "You're safe Miss..."

"Traynor," she said, "Samantha Traynor. I'm a student at the Thames University in London. I was at home on Horizon for Holiday. I'm studying Communications Technology."

"The Normandy's repaired and ready, Commander," Joker reported on the radio, "We've got enough systems online to do a pickup, but we need to land a ways back from your position."

"None of us are in any shape to fight," Traynor noted.

"Speak for your self, Poquita," a beefy guy with a heavy latino accent said, "Just give me a gun, and I'm ready for a little payback."

"And you are?" Shepard inquired.

"Gunnery Chief James Vega, Alliance Marine," Ashley told her commander, "He was stationed with me on Horizon, before the Collectors came. Good thing he's still wearing his armor."

"Good to see you too, OC," Vega replied to Ash.

"Here ya go," Naruto tells Vega, handing him his assault rifle, "Have at it."

"Mordin, you and Sakura take the colonists back to the Normandy, and see to any wounds, ok?" Shepard ordered, "EDI, what's next?"

"The path ahead to the main control room is blocked again," EDI commented, "You'll need to find a way around it. There is another path, but I cannot advise it. It's full of seeker swarms, and even Mordin's countermeasure cannot defend against so many."

"How about biotics?" Thane asked, "It should be possible to generate a biotic field to protect a small team."

"If you do that, though," Tali noted, "I would suggest one of our more powerful biotics: Samara or Jack. No offense, Miranda, but those two have both you and Jacob beat in the biotic power department."

"None taken," Miranda replied, "I was going to suggest that myself."

"I'll take a small team through the swarms," Shepard said, "Samara, you generate the field. Grunt, Jacob, you're with me. I would take you, Naruto, but in the confines of a biotic field, I'll need people who can stay close."

"_**Hang on, Kit**_," Kurama told the shinobi, "_**My power can protect you, and one other, from the swarms. Also, the Uchiha's Susano'o can protect him**_."

"Hang on, Alexa," Naruto told her, "Let me and Sasuke take a tech expert through the swarms. I can put a field of Kurama's chakra around myself and the tech, and Sasuke's Susano'o could protect him. You lead the team through the other way, and we'll let you in. Also, it won't take us near as long to cut a swathe of destruction through the collectors at our full power."

"You sure about this,Dobe?" Sasuke inquired.

"You willing to argue with the Nine-tailed fox?"

"I see your point. My full-power susano'o could get me through. Just like the battle with the Jyuubi."

"Except this time, we have the fate of a whole galaxy resting on our shoulders."

"Ok, Naruto," Shepard relented, "Take Legion with you, protect him with Kurama's power, and you and Sasuke get through to the doors, to let us into the next chamber. Everyone else is with me."

"Joker, need location of landing zone," Mordin said into his omni-tool, and then lead the colonists,with Sakura, to the Normandy.

_**Seeker Swarm Chamber**_

Surrounded by the golden aura of Kurama's power, Naruto and Legion entered the seeker chamber with Sasuke, who was channeling his full-powered Susano'o using his Mangekyo Sharingan. It looked like a Purple spirit warrior and a huge nine-tailed fox were rushing through the chamber, cutting down anything that came at them.

"You were right, Naruto," Sasuke stated, "Our powers are protecting us just fine."

"Wasn't me, Teme," Naruto said, "It was Kurama." He said that as one of the fox's tails swatted two scions out of the way, and decimated another bunch of husks."

"Naruto-Shinobi, Sasuke-Shinobi, We are approaching the doors. We will close them behind us, before letting the others in to protect them from swarms."

"Good idea, Legion."

_**Shepard's Team**_

Shepard's team was advancing through their chamber with few problems, and little need for medi-gel. Between the members of this massive team, kill counts were through the roof, and only getting higher.

"**Shepard**," EDI reported, "**I'm picking up abnormally large energy readings in the seeker swarm chamber**."

"Naruto and Sasuke are in there with Legion," Shepard responded, "How are they doing?"

"Judging by their video feeds," Joker commented, "They're kicking some serious ass. The collectors don't stand a chance against those two at full power."

"Good," Shepard said, "That will give us some idea of their full power, which they've not shown since being on this mission. Now, EDI, get a full spectrum of scans on them, in the process. Naruto said that Kurama is the most powerful of the Biiju. I want you to monitor them throughout the rest of the mission. I want to know just how powerful a Biiju is."

"**We'll save all video feeds to the Normandy's data storage drives, and to OSD's for Councilor Anderson and Admiral Hackett**," EDI said.

"I knew the shinobi were powerful, but this is just baffling," Garrus added, "I even saw Naruto summon the fox on Tuchanka to kill a Thresher Maw."

"The Shinobi are powerful, Garrus," Gaara reminded the Turian, "But these two are special. Remember, Naruto does have Kurama, and Sasuke has his Sharingan. That's what gives them so much power, that and their unheard of training regiment over the years."

"Shinobi," Vega asked, "You mean like Ninjas?"

"Not from Earth, Vega," Ashley informed the marine, still blasting away at collectors, "These guys come from another world all together, and are capable of so much more than a normal human."

"Best we can assume," Tali continued, "is that a species of humans evolved on their world, and for some odd reason, a Prothean helped them develop this 'Chakra' system, and what they call 'Ninjutsu'. He was probably the last remaining Prothean after their civilization was destroyed by the Reapers."

"Alexa," Naruto said over the radio, "The doors will be open when you get here. Sasuke and I will cover your entrance."

"Good work, Naruto," Shepard replied, "Come on, guys. We're one step closer now."

They arrived at the doors, as Naruto and Sasuke released a Rasenshuriken and a Susano'o Kagutsuchi to cut through the Collectors coming up behind the team. Legion shut the doors behind them, and sealed them.

"One more chamber to go, Commander," Joker told them, "Mordin and Sakura's group just made it here. Everyone's safe and sound in the cargo hold."

"**I can hack the platforms and get you through to the next chamber, Shepard**," EDI continued, "**But note that hostiles are massing behind the door and will break through in moments.**"

"A rear guard can defend this position, allowing us to get through and destroy the base," Shepard stated, "Naruto, Miranda, you're with me. "

"I'm ready, Shepard," Miranda said, climbing up with Shepard.

"You don't even have to ask," Naruto added, jumping up to his position, "Have anything to say to the rest of the team?"

"The collectors, the Reapers. They're not just a threat to humanity," Shepard began, "They're a threat to everything. To everyone. Those are the lives we're fighting for. It's been a long journey, and no one's coming out without scars. But it all comes down to the next few moments. We win or lose it all in that small span of time. Make me proud. Make yourselves proud."

"Kick some ass, and be careful," Naruto added, "Teme, Gaara, give them all the hell you've got."

"Of course, Dobe."

"You know it, my friend."

Having said all they needed to, Shepard, Miranda and Naruto stepped onto the platform, and it started forward.

_**Rear Guard**_

"EDI," Garrus said into his omni-tool, "What's the satus of that door?"

"**The Collectors seem to be having some trouble breaking Legion's encryption on the door's lock**," the AI reported, "**But still, it won't be long until they're through**."

"Ok, Sasuke, I suggest you use whatever it was that got you and Naruto through that seeker room. Gaara, can your sand form any sort of defense for us?"

"Not against these heat based weapons. It would turn my sand into glass," Gaara replied, "But I can crush them with it, though, and create more from what looks like the ground in here. It's oddly a mix of organic and inorganic matter, which I can turn into more sand if needed."

"Garrus, if you guys can hold out for a while, I can make a pickup," Joker told the Turian, "Just give Shepard enough time to destroy the base."

"Got it, Joker," Garrus answered, "Guys, get ready, they're coming through."

The door started opening, and Collectors started to pour through, but it strangely stopped when there was only space for 3 or 4 collectors at a time.

"**They can't break my code**," EDI stated, "**This battle will be their own personal Thermopylae. You will be able to defend that position better this way**."

"A narrow pass," Jacob thought, "I like it."

"OPEN FIRE!" Garrus ordered and the team let loose with everything they had.

_**Shepard's Team**_

The battle to the central control chamber was heated as they had to fight past several pads full of collectors and husks to get there. Miranda had taken a couple of hits, but it was nothing a small dose of medi-gel couldn't fix. Their own platform reached a certain point and the Collectors stopped attacking.

"EDI, what do you know about all this?" Shepard asked the AI.

"**The tubes all feed into a sort of super-structure**," EDI explained, "**It's emitting both organic and inorganic energy signatures. At that massive of a scale, I can only assume that the superstructure is a reaper.**"

What the team saw next shocked them all. "Not just a reaper, EDI," Miranda said, "A Human reaper."

"How do we destroy it?" Naruto inquired.

"**Those glass tubes are feeding the genetic material into the reaper, and seems to be a weak point. Destroying them would destroy the reaper. Also, that place on it's chest seems to be a structural weak point. Enough damage could destroy the reaper itself, but you would still need to overload all systems to destroy the base.**"

"_Kurama?_"

"_**A full powered Biijudama would destroy the reaper, if we hit the weak point**_."

"I have an idea," Naruto tells Shepard, "Get ready to overload the base, as soon as I hit it with a full-powered Biijudama. Kurama assured me it would destroy the Reaper."

"Commander," Joker interfered, "I've got a call coming in from the Illusive Man. Want me to put it through?"

"No, just send a message back saying this, 'Consider this our resignation'." Miranda replied, and handed Shepard a grenade. Naruto went into full Biiju form and started to charge up a Biijudama as Shepard put the grenade into the exhaust port to overload the base. Kurama's attack struck the reaper square in the chest, knocking it off the supports and feeding tubes, before exploding and destroying the reaper itself.

"Commander," Joker reported, "I've just picked up the rest of the team. No casualties. We're ready to pick you up."

"No time to wait," Naruto replies, "Alexa, Miranda, hold on to me. I've still got that seal in the cargo hold. Joker, hold for 2 minutes." Shepard and Miranda grab onto Naruto's arms and the team disappears from their position and reappear in the cargo hold of the Normandy. They all run at full speed to the lift to take them to the Command deck. The lift trip was excruciating as they awaited the opening door. Once the lift opened, they sprinted to the bridge.

"Get us out of here, Joker, Now!" Alexa ordered.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Joker replied as the ship jetted off from the base, in just enough time for it to safely escape the explosion. One quick FTL jump later, and the ship was back at Omega.

"I can't believe we made it back," Miranda said, dropping to her knees in exhaustion.

"Commander, incoming call from Admiral Hackett," Joker stated, "We've already sent the video footage from the Collector base to Alliance command."

"Put the admiral on," Alexa responded, as Hackett appeared on the comm screen, "Admiral."

"Good work on the Collector base, Shepard," Hackett began, praising the team's work, "I hate to tell you this, but we've just received information from one of our intelligence units investigating Cerberus about a base designated 'Project: Overlord'. This could be a good way to disrupt their operations before we go after the Illusive Man himself."

"As soon as we make repairs to the Normandy, we'll be headed that way," Shepard replied, "Thanks, Admiral."

"**Shuttle has landed in the cargo hold**," EDI informed them, "**We can make repairs at Illium's drydock facility**."

"How long will repairs take?" Miranda inquired.

"**4 days**," EDI answered, "**The Normandy has taken extensive damage from the crash on the Collector Base. We need time to fully repair**."

"Then we get a small break, and we can drop the colonists off there," Alexa noted, then took Naruto by the arm, "I think we could use a few days off, after this last mission."

_**End Chapter 16**_

_**Next time: "Overlord"**_

_A/N: I got inspired to go ahead and write the suicide mission. Anyway, now that that's done, expect a deviation from ME canon from here on out. Don't get me wrong, I loved ME3, except for the ending, but I'm doing ME3 differently in this fic, as you can tell by the plans I've set forth in previous chapters._

_Anyway, enjoy, and I'll upload again when I get Overlord done._


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